Trapped
by autonwallyluvr
Summary: [Automan] Walter and Automan are lured and trapped in an abandoned building by a professional hitman, who knows Automan's true nature. But who hired the hit? To find out, you have to read!
1. Jail Break

Automan: Trapped

By autonwallyluvr

Disclaimer: I don't own Automan--wish I did. (Ahhh...my very own handsome blond-haired, blue-eyed ahh...just my type, artificially intelligent hologram. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?J) I also don't own the characters Walter Nebicher, Roxanne Caldwell, Jack Curtis, Cursor, Ronald Tilson, or Captain Boyd, either. So, please don't sue. Besides, you wouldn't get much money out of me anyway. The characters Jordan Sanders/Shadow, Jones, Ed, Ian Slavich, John Tyler, Steve and any other miscellaneous characters are mine all mine as well as the story idea, so please ask permission first before using them. Oh, and if the names, characters, places, and incidents bear any resemblance to the actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, they are a product of my sometimes overactive imagination and/or used fictitiously and are entirely coincidental. Well, enjoy.

Ch. 1--Jail Break

A dark-haired man sat on the edge of the bunk in his jail cell brooding over how close he had come to bringing Los Angeles to its knees just like it had brought him before one cop and his holographic friend had put an end to his reign of terror. Somehow they had to pay for ruining his plans. But first, he had to get out of **here**.

He looked up without really paying much attention as his cell door was opened and a black man a couple of inches shorter than him, his cell-mate, was escorted back into the cell. No words were exchanged as he and his cell-mate talked very little. For the most part, his cell-mate left him alone with his thoughts.

He waited as the guard closed the cell door locking it and had walked out of earshot before turning to his cell-mate. He broke the solitude that would have usually existed between them saying, "Well?"

His cell-mate turned to him. "Getting into the place isn't going to be too hard, but they have surveillance monitoring on the carts upon departure. How are we supposed to get around that, Tilson?"

"Leave that to me, Jones." Tilson leaned back against the wall considering how to hack into the prison computer system. Should be a piece of cake for someone of his caliber; someone who had wired whole cities. He came up with an idea but it would have to wait until tomorrow. He quietly told Jones what his idea was.

* * *

The next day, Tilson pretended to have a terribly upset stomach and got Jones to get the guard. The guard let Tilson out of the cell and escorted/helped him to the medical section.

The doctor had examined him and stated that he may have an acute case of the flu that had been going around and he wanted to run some more tests. The doctor left the examination room and headed into another area for the special equipment required to perform the tests. Soon after the doctor had left, Tilson sat up on the examination bed and looked around for the surveillance camera he knew would be in the medical section. Once he found it, he tore off part of the sheet from the examination bed, got off of the examination bed, went to the camera and using the loose fabric bound the camera to camouflage his movements. Once that task was done, he went into an adjacent office and booted up the computer within the office. The computer took a couple minutes to boot up. He knew he would have to work quickly. The doctor would be back soon. When the computer was ready, he hacked into the prison mainframe looking for the program controlling the cameras within the laundry room. He quickly found his objective and hurriedly modified the surveillance cameras to show Jones performing his laundry duties from the night before just before his cell-mate was scheduled to go to perform his duties within that area tonight. 'The break begins tonight,' he thought with conviction. His task completed, he deleted all traces of his activities on the computer and shut it down before heading back into the examination room. The doctor came in just as he was getting himself in a more comfortable position on the examination bed. The doctor gave him a full physical. He had Tilson explain what his symptoms were. Tilson told the doctor he had an upset stomach with nauseousness. The doctor finished giving him the exam and prescribed some anti-nausea medicine and rest. He made sure Tilson took the medicine. He went to an intercom near the wall and pressed a button. The same guard that had escorted/helped Tilson to the medical section appeared and escorted him back to his cell.

Jones watched as Tilson went over and laid down on his bunk and the guard closed and locked the door. He waited until the guard was out of sight before turning to Tilson, "So?"

"Everything's set. You just need to get me in there," replied Tilson. The medicine the doctor gave him made him drowsy and he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Six hours later, a guard came to Jones' and Tilson's cell door. "Jones, come on. Laundry duty."

Jones, who had been sitting on his bunk, got to his feet. He turned to the guard and said, "Hey, I'm gonna need some help. I've seen some of the carts I gotta unload tonight. They're too heavy for me to push by myself."

The guard turned to Tilson, who was lying awake on his bunk. "Tilson, you've just been drafted for laundry duty. Get up," instructed the guard. Tilson smiled to himself. Their plan was working perfectly. He slowly got to his feet. The guard opened the cell door and escorted both Jones and Tilson to the laundry room one floor down.

The guard waited outside of the room not being able to stand the smell of the dirty laundry in the room as Jones and Tilson went into the room. Jones and Tilson carefully examined each cart checking to see how many dirty laundry sheets were in each. Tilson walked around beside Jones mentally calculating which carts might make a good hiding place. Jones started sorting the clean carts from the dirty ones and told Tilson how to tell the difference between the carts containing clean laundry and the carts containing dirty laundry. The distinction narrowed down for Tilson the number of possible carts they might successfully hide in.

They knew the guard checked on them every hour, so Jones showed Tilson how to store the clean sheets that had come in on the shelves lining the walls and where to store the dirty laundry carts after they had added in this week's dirty laundry to the carts that were only partially filled. They were in the process of swapping some of the clean carts near the outside exit with dirty carts when the guard came in to check on them.

Time passed without them truly noticing. Before long, they had sorted all of the dirty clothes sitting on the floor into the appropriate carts. The guard had come in periodically to check on them without saying a word. When Jones looked at the clock near the outside exit, he realized the truck that comes to pick up the carts would be there in about an hour. The guard was due to check on them as well. Jones turned to Tilson, "Whatta we do about the guard? He'll be back soon to check on us."

"I've been watching the guard," said Tilson. "He looks around, but he's not very attentive. One of us could distract him then the other could attack him. We'll dump him in one of the dirty laundry carts. It'll take them some time to find him. I've selected the cart that we could most successfully hide in." He pointed to a cart ¾'s full.

The guard came into the room for his routine check on the progress of the prisoners when he noticed Tilson doubled over in apparent pain. "Tilson?" He went to Tilson's side. Jones silently came up behind him with a dirty sheet in his hands. He wrapped part of the sheet around the guard's head and neck holding it securely in position until he felt the guard's body go limp. Tilson suddenly straightened up, and both he and Jones picked up the guard and dumped him into a nearby dirty laundry cart and covered his body with some of the sheets in the cart. They quickly went over to the dirty laundry cart Tilson had indicated earlier could successfully hide them. They hurriedly climbed in and rearranged the sheets to hide themselves while they waited for the truck to come.

The more Tilson was exposed to the disgusting smell; the more he thought of how satisfying it will be to finally get his revenge on the persons responsible for him having to stoop to this sort of degradation. After several minutes, Tilson heard a muffled truck engine get closer to the building. He heard footsteps outside as the driver got out. Keys jangled in the lock as the outside entrance of the prison laundry was unlocked and the door was opened.

The driver positioned the door so it stayed open. When he went inside, he didn't see anyone. 'The guard must be escorting the prisoner back to the cell,' he thought to himself. He shrugged and quickly unloaded the carts containing clean sheets. After an hour, he had finished unloading all of the carts containing the clean sheets. 'Strange. Usually a guard comes around this time,' thought he. He looked at his watch and realized he was actually running late. He grabbed the nearest dirty laundry cart. He started loading the cart into the truck. After an hour, he had loaded all of the dirty laundry carts onto the truck. He still didn't see anyone. He shrugged before locking up the door. He quickly checked that all of the carts were secure in the truck before climbing into the cab and driving to the prison parking lot entrance/exit. He got quick clearance and was on his way back to the company in Long Beach.

After 10 minutes, Tilson felt the truck turn onto an exit ramp. He felt the truck turn again. They must be getting close to a truck stop. 'Must be fueling up. This is our chance,' he thought. He stayed as still and quiet as possible as he felt the truck pull to a stop. Tilson and Jones carefully uncovered themselves and silently climbed out of the cart. They could hear the driver talking to someone outside before going to fuel up the tank. They knew they would need to move quickly if they were going to have any chance of freedom. Tilson went to the door and examined the locking mechanism. He needed to find a way to unlock the door without making a lot of noise. He quickly figured out how to pick the lock and had the door unlocked within a short amount of time. He and Jones quietly exited the truck making sure to close the door behind them. They hid near the trucks making sure not to be seen by anyone.

Tilson knew they would need to quickly find a different set of attire and ditch the outfits they currently wore. He spotted a nearby lawn with garments hanging on a clothesline. The clothes looked like they might actually fit him and his associate. He silently pointed out the lawn to Jones, and they swiftly hurried into the yard, grabbed some clothes they thought might fit, and left again.

They needed to find a place to quickly change. Tilson spotted a costume shop not too far from the truck stop. He started heading for it gesturing for Jones to follow him. They went to an alley at the back of the shop hiding behind a dumpster. They patiently waited for the door to open. A bored looking black teenage girl came out carrying a bag of trash. Jones approached the youth. "Hi."

The adolescent spun towards the voice surprised to find anyone else in the alley. She noticed the two men wearing orange jumpsuits and got suspicious. "What do you want?"

"My friend and I just need to borrow your bathroom. See, my friend's been sick lately," said Jones indicating Tilson. Tilson gave her a wan smile before seeming to appear sick.

"I don't know, man. I could get in a lot of trouble if my manager found out I let you in."

"It's okay. We won't be long." Jones flashed a smile towards the young girl. "We won't say a word either." He winked at her conspiratorially.

She stood considering his request for a few moments before she nodded. "All right, but only for a minute." She lead them into the store and pointed to where the employee bathroom was. Tilson went into the bathroom first and quickly changed into the clothes he had appropriated. Tilson came out dressed in a blue flannel and blue jeans. Jones went into the bathroom as soon as Tilson emerged also changing out of his jumpsuit and into the stolen clothes. Jones appeared wearing a black t-shirt with a faded logo and blue jeans.

Tilson and Jones stood in a corner quietly talking. Tilson said to Jones, "Okay, I held up my end of our agreement. We're out, but the girl could ruin out agreement if she reports us to the police. We need to get rid of her."

"Leave her to me." Jones thought the girl looked rather cute and almost regretted having to dispose of her. 'Oh, well. All good things come to an end,' thought he. Jones approached the girl. "Hey, thanks for helpin' us out. Look, let me give you something for your trouble." He faked going through the pockets of his jeans. "Sorry, I must have left it in the alley."

"That's okay."

"No, I really want to repay your kindness." He flashed her a smile. "Come with me? It won't take long. I promise."

"All right, but make it quick. I can't be gone long from the store."

'Oh, you won't have to worry your pretty little head about that much longer,' Jones silently thought to himself. She followed Jones back out into the alley with Tilson following behind them. Jones approached the dumpster he and Tilson had hid behind seemingly searching for something behind the dumpster. He straightened up with a frown. "Hmm... Can't seem to find it." He turned to the girl. "Maybe you could help me. It's a small glass rose I had purchased for a lady friend, but I wanted you to have it."

"I don't know," replied she, glancing nervously at the store door expecting her manager to appear any minute. "I really should be getting back."

"I know it was here. If you could just help me look for it, I'm sure we'd find it much sooner and you can get back to the store." he quickly reassured her, smiling.

"Fair enough." She stepped closer to him and peered around the dumpster. Jones stepped up behind her and placed her in a choker hold. She tried struggling, but he was too strong for her and was easily able to hold onto her. After a couple of minutes, her struggling subsided and stopped. He put his mouth to her ear and whispered, "Sorry, babe. Nothin' personal, but it was either you or me." He snapped her neck, grabbed the keys for the register out of her pants pocket and dumped her body in the dumpster. He turned to Tilson. "Task done."

"We have to find a place to stay," responded Tilson. "I held up my end of the deal and broke us out. You have a meeting to set up." He reminded Jones of their prior deal while they were still incarcerated. "Revenge can be so sweet," he said with a smile imagining what the person he was going to meet might arrange for the two people who had ruined his plans last time.

"Yeah, I remember the deal. You break us out and I hook you up with someone I know who's best equipped to help you get your revenge. I remember and I know where we can get some money." Jones held up the register keys. He quickly headed back into the building, unlocked the register and quickly stuffed as many dollar bills into his pants pockets as he could. He rejoined Tilson in the alley. They left the alley thinking of the best place to hide out at.

After an hour of searching, Tilson and Jones came to a rundown neighborhood with a motel that had seen better days. Many layers of paint had been applied to the walls in an attempt to cover up the seemingly ever-present vandalism. A cheap wooden sign hanging above their heads by a rusty chain read "Reed's Motel". Small flecks of paint chips were slowly peeling from the sign. The sign looked like it hadn't been touched up in years. They went inside and stepped up to a cracked and stained wooden counter with a rack full of keys behind it. Inside, the stale air smelled of alcohol, tobacco, sweat, and other foul odors Tilson was sure were probably linked to illegal drugs and other illicit activities. Tilson looked at the unshaven man with greasy graying black hair behind the counter, who had looked up as they walked in, with some revulsion. The man smelled of alcohol. The man looked at them suspiciously before asking in a slightly slurred voice, "What can I do for you?"

Tilson silently sighed to himself and thought, 'Beggars can't be choosers.' He replied, "We need a room."

The man looked them over figuring them to be easy pickings and said, "Sure. Single room?"

"Yes. One with two beds."

"Right." He went over to a register book and squinted at the scant amount of signatures for a vacancy. He quickly came to a double occupancy room. He reached behind him and grabbed one of the keys off of the rack. He shoved the register book and a pen at Tilson. "Need ya' ta' sign the book." He clumsily pointed to a blank area on the page under the handful of signatures.

Tilson signed under the false name of 'Roger Smith'.

After Tilson had finished signing the book, the man turned it squinting at the signature. "That'll be $20 per a night, Mr. Smith." Tilson looked to Jones, who reached in his pocket and took out a twenty. He handed the money to the man. The man squinted at the money looking for any signs that the money may have been counterfeit before handing the keys to Tilson. "Alright, room 202."

Tilson took the keys. He and Jones went up the staircase across from the desk to their room. When Tilson entered the room, the first thing he noticed was how small the room was with only two beds, one television hooked up to basic cable, an end table between the two beds with a telephone on it and two chairs--one near each bed. He would have preferred something much more luxurious like what he had when he stayed at the Ambassador Hotel. Pushing aside his regrets, he turned to Jones, "Time to make that call."


	2. Setting Up The hit

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 2--Setting Up The Hit

Jones knew what Tilson was referring to and said, "All right, already." He went to the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart. After several seconds he said into the receiver, "I want to speak to Shadow."

After several more long seconds, a male voice came on the line, "Speaking."

"Hey, Shadow. It's Jones."

"Jones? When did you get out?"

"Recently."

"How?"

"Let's just say the person responsible for my 'release' is in need of your services." Jones glanced to Tilson.

"This person does realize my services don't come cheap? I require a partial payment upfront as a sign of good faith."

"A partial payment?" Jones looked with some uncertainty to Tilson , who silently nodded.

"Just have him tell us where to wire it, and I'll handle any payment transfer problems," Tilson quietly told Jones. "Also, I'll need to meet with him to explain the special measures needed to take down of one of his targets."

"No problem," said Jones into the phone. "Just tell us where to wire it. He also wants a face-to-face meeting."

"I don't do face-to-face meetings," said Shadow over the phone.

"You'll want to. One of your 'tasks' will require special measures."

"Special measures?"

"You'll have to talk to him."

"All right. This is the only exception I'll make. Where are you now?"

"Long Beach."

"Long Beach..." Jones heard Shadow say more to himself. "Tell him to meet me at The Reef Restaurant. You do know where that is located, right?"

"The Reef Restaurant? Yeah, I know where it's located. He'll be there. What time?"

"2:00"

"How will he find you?"

"He won't. I'll find him. Have him wear a solid orange shirt and blue jeans."

Jones heard a click from the other end. Shadow had hung up, so Jones hung up as well. He turned to Tilson. "Okay, it's all set up. He wants to meet at The Reef Restaurant, 2:00. He said to wear a solid orange shirt and blue jeans. He'd find you."

Later that afternoon around two o'clock, Tilson sat waiting in a corner booth in a semi-casual restaurant with a unobstructed view of the front door. He felt slightly out of place. Most patrons wore business suits or slightly less formal attire. He was wearing a solid orange shirt that he had hurriedly bought at a nearby retail outlet and blue jeans per the instructions of the person he was meeting.

A young man with short, straight black hair wearing a navy dinner jacket over a navy shirt and pants walked through the front door. He stopped a few feet into the doorway of the restaurant apparently looking for someone. His ice blue eyes fixed on Tilson's position and he headed in that direction. When he reached the booth Tilson was sitting in, he asked, "You're the man Jones sent to me for services you needed rendered?"

"Yes. Are you the person known as 'Shadow'?"

"Yes." Having verified each other's identity, Shadow sat in the seat opposite Tilson. "Your name? I like to know the people I'm dealing with."

"Tilson."

"As in Ronald Tilson, who nearly brought LA to its knees?" asked Shadow impressed.

"Yes, until two meddlers, your targets, had ruined my plans," said Tilson, his voice reflecting his renewed anger and frustration at his failure.

"All right. I'll get to payment in a minute. The amount will depend on who the targets are and what exactly these 'special measures' are."

"Okay. One of your targets is a LA cop, Walter Nebicher. He's the LAPD's computer expert. The other is a hologram goes by the name 'Otto Mann'."

"A cop I can understand, but a _hologram_? Is this some kind of joke?" asked Shadow with disbelief. He felt his anger rising at the prospect of this whole meeting being a setup.

"No joke. I'm absolutely serious. I also know how he can even be eliminated."

"A hologram?" Shadow still found the prospect hard to believe. He leaned back in the booth for several seconds considering how this new information would affect his price and the job. He leaned forward again. "What do they look like?"

"Nebicher is in his late twenties, trim, wavy black hair, brown eyes, about 5'9" or 5'10". 'Otto Mann' looks to be in his twenties with straight blond hair parted to the right and blue eyes. He's tall, too, about 6'4" or 6'5"."

"Okay, what exactly are these special measures I'll need to terminate this 'Otto Mann'?"

"His entire body is made of electromagnetic energy. If you can obtain an electromagnetic scanner, you'll easily be able to track his movements. He has the ability to phase through walls, though, so you'll need to set up an electromagnetic energy field generator that can cover the area you plan on trapping him in to prevent his escaping."

"Okay, you've told me how to track his movements and trap him, but how do I eliminate him?" broke in Shadow.

"He can only be harmed by an electronic beam. Because his body is made of electromagnetic energy, electromagnetically charged bullets will also harm him. You'll need to obtain a fiberglass gun to fire them from, however."

Shadow leaned back in the seat deliberating where he might get all the special equipment he would need just to knock off this one target. Some of the equipment may be difficult to acquire right away. He factored into the final payment amount the time and resources he would need to expend getting the devices. He usually charged $25,000 a head,--more if the target was an official--but with the special hardware he'd need at least $13,000 more. He leaned forward in the seat again. "Some of the equipment may be difficult to obtain right away. When do you require their elimination?"

"I've waited this long. I can wait a little longer. As soon as you are able. Now about the payment amount?"

"I usually charge $25,000 a head, but I'll also need money to get hold of or have the special devices made. $63,000; half up front."

"That's not going to be a problem." Tilson knew of some banks that would be easy enough for him to hack into and initiate a wire transfer without leaving a trace. "Just tell me where you want it wired to."

Shadow reached into his inside jacket pocket and took out a pen. He grabbed a napkin from a napkin holder on the table and he wrote down a bank name, routing number, and account number. He slid the napkin to Tilson. "I expect the money to be in the account by 48 hours. No later or the deal's off."

"Agreed."

Shadow got up and left. Tilson waited a few minutes before he also left the restaurant. He walked back to the hotel he and Jones were staying at and went straight up to their room. Jones was sitting on a bed flipping through the channels on the television. Tilson walked up to him. "I need $75. I'm going to be using a computer at the Ambassador Hotel on the other side of town to wire Shadow the money."

Jones didn't say anything. He dug out the money from his pants pocket and handed it to Tilson. Tilson took the money and left the motel. Hailing a cab, Tilson headed for the Ambassador Hotel across town. 'Beware, Walter Nebicher, 'Otto Mann'. Your days are numbered,' he thought with spiteful delight as he got into the cab.


	3. Setting the Trap

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch 3--Setting The Trap

Shadow roamed the streets about five blocks from The Reef Restaurant where he had recently met with Ronald Tilson mulling over their recent conversation. He was still a bit surprised that Tilson would require his services, but a job was a job.

Around ten minutes ago, he had backtracked to near The Reef Restaurant. He had covertly followed Tilson to make sure Tilson would make the payment. After seeing Tilson hack into a bank computer via the Ambassador Hotel computer and initiate a wire transfer into the account Shadow had specified, Shadow knew Tilson's deal was legit.

Now, he was contemplating where he might be able to obtain the necessary equipment to complete his job. In order to obtain the special electromagnetic scanner and electromagnetic energy field generator, he would need to visit an old business associate in charge of an electronics lab. He may also require this person's expertise in creating the electro-magnetically charged bullets he'd need to take out his targets. The easiest object for him to obtain--relatively speaking--would be the fiberglass gun needed to fire the bullets.

He headed towards a shadier part of town and entered a small corner shop with a well-kept wooden sign above the door which read: "Ed's Gun Shop". He heard bells over his head rattle as he walked through the front door. All different sizes and shapes of guns lined the shelves on either side of him. He knew these guns were mostly for show and not very valuable. He understood that the most valuable ones were always kept in the back. He walked up to a glass counter containing different boxes of differing sized ammo and waited.

An overweight, clean-shaven man in his late forties with dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail came from the back room. "Shadow! How's my favorite customer? What can I get for you this time?"

"An unusual gun and ammo, Eddie," replied Shadow.

"An unusual gun and ammo, huh?" Eddie immediately saw dollars signs in front of his brown eyes. "How unusual?"

"A fiberglass gun that can shoot electro-magnetically charged bullets."

"A fiberglass gun?" 'That is unusual. Even for Shadow,' thought Eddie. He contemplated that for a few seconds. Out loud, he said, "I know someone who might be able to create the kind of gun you require, but electro-magnetically charged bullets? Why would you need to electro-magnetically charge the bullets?"

"Never mind why. Can it be done?"

"Well, yeah, but I personally don't know anyone who would be able to charge the bullets."

"Could you get the gun and bullets that **could **be electro-magnetically charged?"

"I can get the gun. It's gonna take a couple of days and it's not gonna be cheap."

"And the bullets?"

Eddie considered that for some time. "Well... I could create bullets that would have the capability of holding a magnetic charge, but I wouldn't be able to charge them for you."

"That will work. I know somewhere I can get them charged. How much?"

"How soon do you need them?"

"Three days would be fine."

"$4,000."

"Agreed. Cash on delivery like usual."

"Like usual. Always nice doing business with you."

Shadow walked out of the shop and hailed a cab. He instructed the cab to take him to uptown Long Beach to "Long Beach Electronics Lab".

After a twenty minute ride, the cab pulled up to a multitude of white buildings annexed together. The sign in front of the largest building read: "Long Beach Electronics Lab". Shadow paid the cab driver, climbed out of the cab, and headed for the largest building. He entered the building heading for the "General Information" desk. A young woman with brown hair with natural red highlights sitting behind the desk looked up from the report she was preparing on the computer. "Hello. May I help you?"

"Hello." Shadow flashed her a friendly smile. "I need to speak with Dr. Slavich."

"He's a very busy man. May I ask who's asking?"

"Sure. Just tell him: 'Shadow requires his expertise.' He'll know who I am."

She picked up the receiver of a phone and dialed an internal number. After a few seconds, she said into the receiver, "Dr. Slavich? I have someone here who needs to speak to you." She waited for his response. "Yes, sir. I told him you were a very busy man. He told me to tell you: 'Shadow requires his expertise.' That you'd know who he was." A brief pause. "Yes, sir. I'll have security escort him there right away." She put down the receiver and turned to Shadow. "He says he'll meet you in his lab. He's working on a delicate project right now. Security will escort you there." She pressed the call button for security personnel. A young security guard arrived at her desk within a minute. "Please escort this person to Lab A," said the receptionist.

"Yes, Ma'am," replied the security guard.

"Thank you," replied Shadow to the brunette front desk assistant. The security guard gestured for Shadow to follow him, and they headed down an adjacent corridor into a connecting bridge to the second largest building on the premises. The guard knocked on a large metal door. It opened and a tall, trim blond man with slicked back hair and glasses stood in the doorway. He had a slightly perturbed look on his face at being interrupted. "Yes?" he asked before the face of his visitor fully registered. His mood brightened considerably upon recognition. "Sanders? What brings you to this neck of the woods?" Shadow and Slavich shook hands warmly. Slavich excused the guard with a nod of his head. The guard nodded and left. Slavich lead Shadow into the laboratory. After they were inside the lab without the risk of being overheard, Shadow turned to Slavich, "Like I said, Ian, I'm in need of your expertise."

"My expertise? With what?"

"I am in need of an electromagnetic energy field generator capable of covering a room and an electromagnetic scanner. I also need you to electro-magnetically charge bullets capable of holding the charge."

"That is a tall order. The scanner I could have for you within a day. I have been perfecting such a devise for a different experiment. The generator will take some time. How big will this room be?"

"I'll let you know the exact dimensions later. For now, make sure it can cover at least three walls of a conference room. What about the bullets? They won't be a problem for you, will they?"

"The bullets? No, if the design of them is sound, charging them should only take an hour at the most."

"How long until you have everything?"

"Without the precise measurements for the generator, I can give you a sample of the generator's field. I will need to modify the generator to match the exact dimensions you give me." Slavich paused. "One hour, maybe two if the dimensions are unusual."

"How long, Ian?"

"Three days."

"Price?"

"That will depend on what type of modifications I need to make to the field generator and the bullets. $9,000 roughly. Maybe more."

"Agreed. I'll be back with your dimensions." Shadow left the lab and headed for the main building. He exited the main building and premises. He hailed a cab to take him to a car rental place. Once at the car rental place, Shadow used the rental to leave Long Beach looking for the perfect building to lead his two unsuspecting targets into in LA. He soon passed an old office building about to be condemned. He noted the name and number of the business selling the property. He studied the buildings surrounding the office building. Two looked promising. One was an old apartment building. An empty room on the fourth floor of the building perfectly faced an adjacent conference room in the office building across the street. The other was another office building. Upon closer inspection, however, Shadow saw that none of the rooms in the second office building gave him a good view into any neighboring rooms in the first office building. Looked like he would be going with the apartment building.

He drove to a nearby pay phone and called the number of the business selling the office building property. He offered to lease the building for a short while. After some finagling, he got the representative to lease the building to him for one month for $500.

He drove back to the apartment complex and entered the main hall of the structure. He scanned the doors until he found one that said "Manager". He knocked on the door. An elderly man answered the door. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. I noticed you have some rooms for rent. I'd like to rent one. I'd like to have the room on the fourth floor that faces the old office building's conference room, if I may?"

The old man looked Shadow over wondering why such a spiffily dressed young man would want to rent an apartment on this side of town. 'Must have just come from a job interview. Probably lookin' for a low-rent place until he can land a job,' thought the elderly man. Out loud, he said, "The old Sandovahl place? Sure. I'll need a $100 deposit and rent's $250 per month. When do you plan on moving in?"

"Three days."

"Three days? You sure were confident you'd get that room."

"I like to think I'm optimistic." Shadow gave the seasoned man a friendly grin. He told the old man he'd be back with the security deposit and first month's rent the day he moved in. The older man agreed.

He crossed over to the office building and took the stairs up to the fourth floor. He went into the conference room. The furniture was gone and a fine layer of dust covered everything. This room would suit his purpose nicely.

* * *

Three days later, Shadow came into "Ed's Gun Shop" wearing a leather jacket over a light blue t-shirt and jeans. Eddie had the gun laying out on the counter for Shadow's inspection. The bullets were in an open foam-filled case beside the gun--36 in all. Shadow picked up the six-shooter inspecting it's design for any flaws. The design looked sound and he couldn't see any flaws. He gently laid the gun back on the counter and picked up the case containing the bullets. The design of the bullets looked sound, but he'd only be able to verify his analysis when he showed the merchandise to Slavich when he went to pick up the electromagnetic energy field generator and electromagnetic scanner. "Looks good, Eddie. Great workmanship as usual." Shadow took a white envelope out of the inside jacket pocket of his leather jacket. He slipped the envelope onto the counter.

Eddie took the envelope and packed the merchandise in a black bag. "Nice doing business with you, Shadow."

Shadow took the bag, walked out of the shop and hailed a cab. He instructed the cab to take him to uptown Long Beach to "Long Beach Electronics Lab".

After a twenty minute ride, the cab pulled up to the familiar multitude of white buildings annexed together with the sign in front of the largest building reading: "Long Beach Electronics Lab". Shadow paid the cab driver, climbed out with the black bag in his hand, and headed for the largest building. He entered the building heading for the "General Information" desk. The same brunette who had greeted him three days ago was behind the desk. When she looked up, she instantly recognized him.

"I need to see Dr. Slavich," said Shadow.

"He's expecting you. Let me get someone to escort you to his lab," replied the receptionist. She pressed the call button for security personnel.

The same young security guard that had escorted him arrived at her desk within a minute. He recognized Shadow. "Dr. Slavich's lab?" he asked.

"Yes," said the young lady. Shadow nodded.

The security guard gestured for Shadow to follow him, and they headed down an adjacent corridor into a connecting bridge to the second largest building on the premises. The guard knocked on the large metal door. It opened and Dr. Slavich stood in the doorway. "Ah, Sanders, you're here. Good. Come in." Slavich excused the guard, who headed back to the main building. Slavich noticed the black bag in Shadow's hand. "Is that the bullets?"

"And a fiberglass gun to shoot them from."

"A fiberglass gun. Good. No metal to interfere with the magnetic field. Wise choice, Sanders."

"Thank my client. Now about the merchandise?"

"Ah, yes." Slavich lead Shadow further into the lab. He pointed to a specially modified scope to be installed on any standard six-shooter. "Let me see the gun. I want to make sure I don't need to make any last minute adjustments to the electromagnetic scanner."

"Sure." Shadow reached into the black bag and took out the fiberglass gun. He handed the sidearm over to Slavich.

"Good craftsmanship, but I may be able to modify it to strengthen and stabilize the magnetic field of the bullets before and after firing," said Slavich as he inspected the gun.

"By all means, but you might want to charge the bullets as well." Shadow took the bullet case out of the bag. He handed the case to Slavich.

Slavich inspected the design of the bullets before saying, "These were professionally made. I won't need to make any modifications to them. Just charge them. They look like they'll hold the charge for a couple of days. I'll give you the case to recharge them." He went to a different section of the lab and placed the bullets in individual compartments in a small case with wires going around it hooked up to a wall socket. He flipped a switch on the case, and Shadow could hear a faint hum coming from the case.

"The generator?" asked Shadow.

"Yes, I am still modifying that. I assume you need the generator to cover a wide area and yet still be inconspicuous?"

"Of course."

Slavich went to another section of the lab and pointed to what looked like a slightly modified, small, black security camera set on a stand. It was facing a medium-sized room bare of equipment or furniture. Slavich reached over to a nearby table and picked up the electromagnetic scanner. He handed it to Shadow. "Here."

"But don't you need to install this on the gun, yet?"

"Yes, but you're going to need it for this little demonstration first."

Shadow took the scanner unsure what Slavich had in mind.

"Step into the room," requested Slavich, pointing to the empty room. Shadow did. Slavich flipped a switch and a hum could be heard.

Shadow saw no change in the room. "Nothing's changed."

"Look through the electromagnetic scanner," instructed Slavich.

Shadow put the scanner to his eye and peered through it. He saw a hazy white almost as if a curtain had been drawn across three of the walls of the room he was standing in. "Impressive. Will the field harm me or the scanner if I try to step through it?"

"No. The field would only affect objects created by electromagnetic energy. The human body gives off a weak electromagnetic aura unaffected by the field. The scanner is not made of electromagnetic energy; it only detects electromagnetic energy."

"Excellent," said Shadow imagining how effective this will be against one of his targets. He stepped through the field unaffected and laid the scanner on the table Slavich had originally had it on.

"The generator is not complete, however," said Slavich.

"Not completed? Looks fine to me."

"Yes, for this size room. You never gave me the exact dimensions of the room you plan to trap your quarry in. I need to modify the generator to cover **that **area."

"Fair enough. 15 feet by 14 feet by 7 feet." Shadow waited a few seconds as he saw Slavich jot down the dimensions he had given him before continuing, "How long will it take you to modify both the gun and the generator?"

"Two hours."

"I also need a silencer on the gun."

"Of course. I already have a silencer modification in mind that won't drastically affect the magnetic charge of the bullets and still give you decent distance and aim."

"Fine, Ian. I'm going to get something to eat while I wait, if you don't mind? I'll be back in two hours for the merchandise. Want anything?"

"No. I want to get started right away. They will be ready by the time you get back in two hours."

"Great." Shadow walked out of the lab and headed for the main building. He exited the building and walked off the lab's premises strolling down a nearby boulevard looking for a decent restaurant. Most of the restaurants he passed were sidewalk cafes. He wanted a restaurant that would afford him a modicum of privacy. He saw a relatively decent Italian restaurant and stepped inside. He took his time ordering and eating his meal.

Two hours later, Shadow was back in Slavich's lab inspecting the modifications Slavich had made to the gun. "Nice workmanship, Ian."

"Thought you would approve. I know you probably want to test it as well."

"Yes, if you have a way for me to safely test it without damaging any of your expensive equipment."

Slavich pointed to a dummy in a corner with a wall behind it covered with bullet proof padding. "I've electro-magnetically charged that dummy. I assume one of your targets consists of electromagnetic energy?"

"Yes."

"Well, I've loaded the first chamber in the gun. You can use the scope to see the damage done to the magnetic field of the dummy. This dummy will also show you the affect of the bullet itself on the equivalent to a human body."

Shadow took careful aim and fired. He heard a soft pop sound. The bullet impacted on the dummy right where it's heart would have been if it were human. He still had the gun aimed at the dummy as he carefully looked through the scope inspecting the damage done to the magnetic field of the dummy. He saw a sizeable disruption in the field where the bullet passed through. He approached the dummy and saw a two inch hole where the bullet had impacted. 'Excellent,' thought he. Out loud, he asked, "How do I work the generator from a distance?"

Slavich handed Shadow a remote. "This will activate the generator from up to 500 feet away nearly instantly."

"Excellent work as always, Ian." Shadow took an off-white envelope out of the inside jacket pocket of his leather jacket. He handed the envelope to Slavich. "$9,000 as agreed."

Slavich took the envelope. "Always great to do business with you, Sanders."

Shadow left the lab with the black bag in hand with the devices inside and headed for the main building. He exited the main building and premises. He hailed a cab to take him to a car rental place. Once at the car rental place, Shadow used the rental to head to his apartment in Long Beach. He gathered enough items from his apartment to make it appear he was moving into the LA apartment he had set up. Using the rental, he headed to LA and the apartment complex.

He started bringing the belongings from his Long Beach apartment into his LA apartment. He had only managed to carry in half of the items he had brought with him when he encountered the old man outside.

"Hello again, young man. I see you're already moving in. Is this all your possessions?"

Shadow put down the item he had in his hand. "No, sir. Some of my friends promised me they'd be helping me move the rest of my things from my other place in a few days. I should be all moved in by the end of the week." He dug into his inside jacket pocket. "Oh, I almost forgot." He took out a light blue envelope. "Here's the deposit and first month's rent." He handed the envelope to the old man.

"Thank you. Well, I hope your move goes well."

"Thank you. If you'll excuse me, I'd really like to get this stuff into the apartment. I have another errand I need to run."

"Of course." The old man went into the apartment complex. Shadow quickly finished unloading the items he had brought with him.

Shadow took his black bag and went into the office building across the street. He went up to the fourth floor and entered the conference room. He quickly set up the camera in a corner as far in the shadows as he could. He knew he would need to be able to lock his targets in the room and he studied the locks on the door and window. He figured out a way to wire the locks to the generator. When he triggered the generator, the locks clicked secure as well. When he turned the generator off, they released. 'Excellent. Everything's set. Now time to invite the guests of honor,' thought Shadow.


	4. Malicious Intentions

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 4--Malicious Intentions

Shadowed exited the office building. He noticed a newspaper dispenser for the LA Times. He dug some change out of the pocket of his jeans and got a paper. He skimmed the paper until he came upon the local section. LA was hosting another one of those computer conventions again at the Ambassador Hotel this weekend. 'Looks like last year's convention was so popular they're doing one this year,' he thought. He always liked going to computer conventions. He liked browsing the newest electronic gadgets they had on display. He also liked browsing over what new computers were about to come out. As much as he would enjoy going to the convention, he had another entirely different reason for wanting to go to **this **convention. One of his targets, the LAPD computer expert/cop, Walter Nebicher, was sure to be there.

Shadow went to a nearby drug store and bought some brown hair dye and brown contacts. He went into the LA apartment heading for the bathroom. He immediately put the hair dye in his hair. He put the contacts in and inspected his appearance in the bathroom mirror. His two most noticeable features had been effectively masked. He would be able to effectively blend in with the crowd at the convention center. 'Excellent. Time to meet my first target,' he thought.

* * *

The first day of the convention, Shadow, dressed in a white button-down shirt, blue tie, blue pull-over sweater, and navy pants, was in the section displaying the newest electronic devices. His name tag, which read 'JUSTIN SUMMERS', was attached to his sweater. Even though he was here to study his quarry, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself while he was here as long as he kept in mind the main reason he had come in the first place. As he was scanning the equipment, he was also scanning the crowd of people looking for Nebicher. After a minute, Shadow spotted a trim, young man with wavy black hair wearing a light gray business suit and black slacks about five feet away. The person looked to be about 5'9" or 5'10". He was looking at the new computers about to come out. He appeared to be alone.

Shadow carefully yet casually approached the young man's position. As he got closer, Shadow pretended to be scrutinizing the rows of different types of computers and peripheral devises. He took a quick look at the name tag attached to the left lapel of the young man's business suit. It read 'WALTER NEBICHER'. While still gazing at the devices, Shadow said, "They look interesting, don't they?"

Wally hadn't noticed anyone standing next to him at first. He had been so absorbed in studying the computers coming out and comparing them to his computer at home. He turned to look at the young brown-haired man next to him. "Yeah, they do."

Shadow turned to Nebicher, "Hi, I'm Justin Summers." He held out his hand.

Wally shook his hand. "Hi. Walter Nebicher."

"So what brings you out to one of these conventions?"

"Oh, just an interest in computers. You?"

"Actually, I come for the electronic devices. Something of an electronics buff you could say," said Shadow with a slightly embarrassed grin. He looked at Nebicher as if he might have recognized him. "They had one of these conventions last year. You weren't at that convention by any chance?"

"Yes, I was," replied Wally unsure why Summers had asked.

"I thought you looked a bit familiar. Weren't you here with a tall, blond man at one time?"

"Yes, but only briefly," responded Wally wondering how this guy knew he had been here with Automan last year.

"Ah. Well, enjoy the rest of the show."

"Thank you. You, too. It was nice talking to you." Wally wasn't quite sure what to make of that conversation.

Both men headed in opposite directions. Wally was eager to try out the new computer games they had out and headed towards the section of the convention labeled 'Computer Games'.

Shadow headed towards the section labeled 'Office Equipment', which was directly opposite the section Nebicher had gone towards. Throughout the rest of the convention, until Nebicher left, Shadow inconspicuously studied Nebicher's habits/mannerisms. When Nebicher left, Shadow waited 15 minutes before he left himself.

* * *

Shadow waited until the excitement of the computer expose had died down over the weekend before making his move. 'Time to bait the trap,' he thought with eager anticipation. He went outside of his LA apartment and walked about a mile from the apartment before stopping at a payphone. If they happened to trace the call, he didn't want the trace to lead them back to his apartment. He looked in the phone book for the main telephone number to the LAPD. He dialed the number. An officer on the other end answered, "Hello, LAPD. How may I help you?"

"May I speak to Walter Nebicher?"

"Hold one moment, please."

"Sure."

A few moments passed before a familiar voice came on the line. "Nebicher here."

"Officer Nebicher, it's Justin Summers. We met at the computer convention."

"Yes, I remember. How did you know to call here?"

"An acquaintance told me you work here. I have some information for you about a case that the LAPD was working on a few months ago. About that murder of that top level financial executive in the old office building. The one on the news concerning Delphi involved in illegal deals?"

"Yes, I remember the case. Go on."

"That building was condemned, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I just moved in across the street and saw some people going into that building. I heard gun shots one afternoon when I was on my way to work. One night, I was going to the movies with a friend, and I noticed that some lights were on on the fourth floor in the old conference room. I think someone else may have been murdered in that building." Shadow let his voice get a little edgy. "I didn't know who else to turn to. I really think you should investigate that structure. You should bring someone with you. Maybe that tall, blond friend of yours. He is a cop, right?"

"Yes, he is a cop--in a manner of speaking. Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Well, thank you for that information."

"You're welcome."

Wally hung up the phone after he heard the click on the other end signifying Summers had hung up. He went to the captain's office. The door was open, and the captain was at his desk looking over a report. He looked up when he saw someone in the doorway.

"Captain, I need to talk to you," said Wally.

"What is it, Nebish?"

Ignoring the mispronunciation of his last name, Wally responded, "Remember the unsolved Smith murder that took place a couple of months ago in an old office building, the one that recently went out of business?"

"Yes. What about it?" asked the captain impatiently.

"I just got a call from someone saying they suspect someone else might have been murdered there recently."

"And you want to investigate the building?"

"Yes, sir."

"Who am I supposed to send with you as back-up?" replied the captain. He couldn't see the harm in letting Nebisher look into the old building. The call was probably some kid prank anyway, besides, having Nebisher check out the call covered the bases and kept Nebisher out of his hair for a while. "Curtis and Caldwell are off on another case. I don't have anyone to spare."

"I could get my federal friend, Agent Mann, to go with me."

"Fine, but you make sure he **does **go with you."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Wally eagerly left the captain's office almost surprised at how quickly the captain agreed to let him investigate that doomed structure. He went back into the computer room. He sat at the computer desk and typed 'Automan'. The question 'What is your clearance?' appeared and he typed 'crimefighter'. The phrase 'Please wait...' appeared underneath. A few seconds later, a sudden shaking occurred as if a recent earthquake were taking place. The lights dimmed and flashed. A ball of light burst forth from the monitor. "Hi, Cursor," said Wally. Cursor hovered for a very brief time in front of Wally and beeped before hovering near the door. The tall, shimmering silhouette of a man started to form near the door. After he fully materialized, the man turned to Wally saying, "Hello, Walter. You called?"

"Hi, Auto. Yeah, I need your help investigating an old office building. I got a tip of a possible recent murder there."

"Then we best get going. Cursor," commanded Automan. Cursor rezzed up a light blue shirt, navy tie, navy pants, and navy business jacket over Auto's body. After the clothing had fully materialized on Auto, he turned to Wally. "Let's go."


	5. Ensnared

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

A/N: And as promised, more Auto. Enjoy.

Ch. 5--Ensnared

A sleek, fast, luminescent sports car pulled up to the abandoned office building. The gull wing doors swung up, and Walter and Automan stepped out of the car. Wally gazed up at the dirty, four-story building wondering what kinds of secrets it might hold. He looked across the street searching for the apartment building Summers had told him Summers had recently moved into. He found the building. He stared at the office building again trying to decide where exactly the conference room Summers told him he had seen the light on was located. He thought he might have spotted it, but he couldn't be certain. He turned to Auto for his opinion. "Auto, the guy that told me about the possible murder said he saw lights on in a conference room across from his apartment. I'm not certain, but I think that's the room he was referring to." Wally pointed to a room with a large observation window facing a room in the apartment complex across the street.

Automan looked closely at the room Walter was pointing to. "You're right, Walter. We should start our investigation there. Are you ready?"

Wally looked up and down the street for any observers without readily seeing any before turning back to Auto. He nodded. Automan stood perfectly still as Wally stepped into Auto's form instantly merging with Auto. Auto strode up to the locked main front doors and phased through the doors. He didn't see anyone else on the main floor. He looked around for a staircase they could use to get up to the fourth floor. He spotted a stairwell off to his right and headed towards it. He entered the stairwell and quickly climbed the stairs to the fourth floor all the while using his infra-red scanner searching for any other person in the building. Auto did see residual heat signatures indicating someone had been there recently but no one appeared to be in the building now. He remembered the outside layout of the structure and was quickly able to ascertain which way the conference room was located. He headed towards his right and quickly reached the conference room. He didn't see anyone inside and said to Walter, "There's nobody inside."

Using Auto's body, Wally responded, "Let's check it out, anyway."

Auto nodded, reached for the door, and pulled it open. The door was unlocked and opened easily. Auto quickly scanned the area looking for any superficial clues without seeing any before he closed the door behind him. He heard a hum and a click. He spun around and tested the door behind him. It was locked. "Walter, we've been lead into a trap. A nearby generator's been activated. For what purpose, I don't know."

"Let's get out of here," responded Wally.

Automan went to the door and tried to phase through it. He recoiled, experiencing excruciating pain. Wally, who was still merged with Auto, also experienced the agonizing pain Auto felt. Auto pulled further away from the door and the pain steadily decreased. He stood a couple of feet away from the door, breathless, trying to recover from the pain.

"What . . . happened?" Wally managed to gasp to Automan through Auto's body. The last time Wally had felt Automan's pain like that was when Auto had been shot by an electronic gun, which had nearly killed him. This felt almost as bad.

"There... is some kind... of energy... barrier," Automan panted. His brush with the barrier still left him winded. "It's blocking... the walls... and door."

Moments later, Automan heard glass breaking and felt searing pain low on his left side near to where his heart would have been if he were human. In the same instant, Wally felt a tearing pain in his upper left shoulder. Auto glanced to the window to see a bullet hole there before examining his side. He saw a spot of blood. Being a hologram, Automan didn't bleed. That meant the blood was Walter's.

"What the... ?" asked Wally. Wally stepped out of Automan's form looking in bewilderment at his wounded shoulder. He pressed his right hand to his left shoulder in an effort to stem the bleeding, but blood still seeped through his fingers. He looked up at Auto to see Automan holding his left side in apparent pain. "How is this possible?" asked Wally.

Auto had seen the wound on Walter's shoulder just before Walter covered it and realized it was a gunshot wound. "We've been shot by a magnetically charged bullet," stated Automan, his voice reflecting the pain he felt.

"'Magnetically charged bullet'? I don't understand. Normally, bullets don't harm you, or me when I'm merged with you."

"**Normal **bullets **wouldn't **harm me or you when you're merged with me. By magnetically charging the bullet, the magnetic field disrupts my molecules making it just as dangerous to me as well as to you."

"Auto, how do we combat something like this?" Wally looked to Automan hoping Automan would be able to pull one of his usual last-minute rescue ideas.

"I don't know, Walter," replied Auto, apprehensively.


	6. Surviving Peril

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 6--Surviving Peril

Automan saw an outlet underneath the observation window he could use to heal his wound, but he didn't know if the energy barrier extended to the window as well. Still holding his left side, Auto carefully approached the window. When he didn't sense the same overwhelming pain he had felt before, he reached out his hand towards the outlet. Electricity jumped from the outlet into the palm of his hand instantly healing his wound.

Auto looked across the street and into the apartment. He saw through the wall a man with a six-shooter with a special scope, the sniper, set to fire again. Realizing the triggerman was aiming at him, Automan jumped back to his former position next to Walter. The bullet missed him by inches impacting on the wall behind him.

Automan still kept his gaze on the shooter. He saw the gunman set to fire yet again aiming at Auto anew. Auto knew that Walter would be hit. After seeing the damage done to Walter's shoulder already, Auto knew he couldn't allow Walter to get hit a second time. Auto grabbed Walter from behind below his arms around the waist and physically shoved him a couple of inches forward being careful to keep pressure off of Walter's injured shoulder before letting go.

"Auto, why... ?" asked Wally unsure why Auto had grabbed and pushed him. He quickly realized why when he saw another bullet hit the window and whiz past his and Auto's previous position colliding harmlessly against the back wall.

Auto looked to the apartment building. The sniper was set to fire again; his aim on Automan. Leaving Walter where he had pushed him, Automan quickly backpedaled in an attempt to draw the hit man's fire to him instead of Walter. The brief tactic worked and the bullet zipped right between them.

Auto kept a watch on the killer in the opposite building. By now, he suspected that the sniper was aiming for **him **as opposed to Walter. If he could keep the hit man's focus on him, Walter would have a better chance for survival. He knew his plan contained a lot of peril, but it was a risk he was more than willing to take. "Walter, stand on the opposite side of the room," instructed Auto.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Wally suspiciously, knowing he probably wouldn't like the answer.

"Increasing our chances for survival. He seems to be tracking **my **position. If I can keep his attention on me, you will have a better chance for survival."

"Auto, that's crazy! He'll kill you the first chance he gets!" protested Wally.

"It's our best chance for survival until we can think of a way out of this. It is easier for me to dodge the bullets than you," explained Automan simply.

Wally had to concede that Automan had a point. With his injured shoulder, Wally's reaction time was much slower. Also, Auto would be able to react much faster if he didn't have to also pull Wally out of harm's way as well. "All right. I don't agree with it, but you do have a point. Be careful." He positioned himself on the opposite side of the room from where Automan was standing.

"Always," replied Auto confidently. He saw the sniper's attention was still focused on him as the killer carefully switched aim again before firing. Auto easily avoided the bullet by stepping a couple inches to the side. He saw the assassin again aim at him and fire. He was easily able to avoid that shot as well with it impacting on the wall behind him.

Automan's plan had worked for the time being, but he knew his tactic would only work for a short while before the sniper realized he and Walter had separated. Once the hit man realized **that**, it wouldn't be long before he started searching for Walter's position and concentrated his firepower on Walter. Auto knew he needed to find a way to get help soon or Walter wouldn't survive their encounter with this killer. He wasn't even sure if **he **would survive this situation without help. He came up with an idea on how to send for the cavalry, but it would require split second timing. He saw the murderer was reloading his gun. 'Now's my chance,' thought Auto.

"Cursor," commanded Automan suddenly. A ball of light instantly appeared in front of Auto. "Go to Roxanne. Tell her in a letter: Walter and I are trapped in the old office building--378 N. Hill Street--in an old conference room on the fourth floor being shot at by a sniper in an apartment complex across from us; Walter has been shot and has already lost a lot of blood requiring **immediate **medical attention; and bring backup to arrest the sniper. Hurry, Cursor."

Cursor beeped his understanding and quickly took off easily phasing through the window. Automan saw the gunman fire twice at Cursor, but Cursor was way too fast for him and was easily able to avoid the bullets. Auto saw the sniper turn his attention back to his two captives in the conference room no longer aiming at Auto. The killer seemed to be searching the floor. 'He must be searching for Walter. If the sniper finds him, Walter could be killed. I have to do something,' thought Automan worriedly.


	7. Getting Help

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 7--Getting Help

In the LAPD municipal building, a young, blond woman, Roxanne Caldwell, sat at her desk outside of the captain's office going through the paperwork on top of her desk when she noticed what looked like a partial ball of light sticking through her desk. She let out a small, startled gasp then quickly glanced around to make sure no one noticed her or her desk. "Cursor! What are you doing here?" she whispered harshly.

Cursor appeared above her desk for a brief second before transforming himself into a simple letter. Roxanne picked up the letter and quickly read it. She let out another shocked gasp and nearly dropped the letter as what she read sank in. With the letter still in her hand, Roxanne swiftly got up and headed to the captain's office. A man with graying black hair was discussing with a balding man with graying black hair the possible whereabouts of Wally.

"Wally should have been back by now," said the graying black-haired man, Lt. Jack Curtis.

Both men looked to the door when they saw it open and Roxanne walked in. She looked shook up. She had overheard the last statement and said, "I know why he isn't." She addressed her next statement to the balding man. "Captain, I just received this letter from a messenger. It's from Agent Mann. You'd better read it."

'Wally, what have you gotten yourself into now?' thought Jack worriedly after seeing the look on Roxanne's face as he took the letter. The captain told him that Wally said he would get his federal friend, Agent Mann, to go with him to investigate a tip on a possible recent murder in an old office building. He read the letter out loud:

"'Roxanne,

Walter and I **urgently **need your help. We've been trapped and ambushed in the old office building located on 378 N. Hill Street in an old conference room on the fourth floor. A sniper is shooting at our position from an apartment across the street. I've been able to keep him from getting a clear shot at us, but Walter has already been shot once and has lost a lot of blood. He will require **immediate **medical attention. Bring back-up and paramedics **right away**.

Agent Mann'"

Jack put down the letter on the captain's desk and looked up at the captain to see how he was going to handle this emergency.

"Caldwell, call for an ambulance to 378 N. Hill Street," said Captain Boyd.

Roxanne nodded and promptly left to her own desk to make the call.

The captain picked up the receiver of the phone on his desk, dialed an internal number, and said into the receiver to the dispatcher, "I need you to send a couple of units to 378 N. Hill Street. We have an urgent situation at that building. They must remain out of sight, however." He put down the phone and turned to Jack. "Let's go."

Just before the men turned to leave the office, Roxanne walked back into the office. "The ambulance company said they've dispatched an ambulance to the building. I've instructed them to keep the paramedics crew out of sight until we can secure the area."

"Good. Let's get going then. We've got two men who desperately need our help right now," said the captain with some urgency.


	8. Switching Targets

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

A/N: Sorry for such an incredibly short chapter. Next one will be longer. Promise. Okay, on with the story...

Ch. 8--Switching Targets

Walter had been intently watching Automan as he easily avoided the last two bullets. He saw Auto command Cursor to get help. 'Hurry, Cursor. I'm not sure how much longer either Auto or I can last,' added Wally silently. Whoever was shooting at them had excellent aim. It was only because of Auto's above average reflexes neither had been injured a second time. Wally knew their luck couldn't last forever. Eventually, Automan's energy would run down as would his reaction time.

When Wally saw Cursor take off with Auto's instructions, the gunman had resumed shooting--at Cursor this time. Cursor was easily able to avoid the bullets. Wally looked back to Automan to find Auto gazing back at him worriedly. 'This can't be good,' thought Wally. He saw Auto subtly adjust his position before suddenly yelling, "Walter, move!"

Wally didn't even bother to ask Auto why. Since he was already up against the wall, he moved forward a few inches. A bullet went through the window and his previous position. 'Close,' thought Wally. 'Great, he's found **my **position. How am I going to avoid getting shot again? If it hadn't been for Auto's warning, I would have been hit.' He didn't have much time to contemplate an answer before Automan yelled at him again, "Walter, move back!"

Wally complied after a second stumbling backwards from sudden dizziness before catching his balance. A bullet whizzed past him by an inch. 'Whoa, dizzy. The shots are getting closer. This is not good,' thought Wally worriedly. He glanced at his injured shoulder in dismay. The stain was getting larger every minute despite the constant pressure he was applying making his dark gray business suit jacket appear wet from the blood. He could also feel himself getting dizzy every time he moved. He looked to Automan knowing the sniper wouldn't give up until he was dead. He heard Auto instruct him, "Walter, move forward and a couple of inches to your right!"

It took Wally a couple of seconds to understand the warning. Seconds that nearly cost him his life. Right after he moved, he literally felt the small breeze and heard the bullet as it whistled just past his left side missing him by only half an inch. 'That was way too close. It's getting harder to concentrate on Auto's warnings. How am I ever going to avoid the next shot?' worried Wally as he tried desperately to prepare for the next shot he knew would be coming.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffy. (OK, so maybe not so sorry. I know this will keep my two faithful readers and reviewees eager for more. sly smile )


	9. Reinforcements Arrive

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 9--Reinforcements Arrive

A silver Plymouth pulled up to the front of the apartment complex across from 378 N. Hill Street. Lt. Jack Curtis and Captain Boyd got out. Both had two-way radios in their hands. The captain put the radio to his mouth and said, "Unit one cover the rear entrance."

Jack had his own two-way on a different channel. He pressed a button and said into the radio, "Roxanne, we're heading in. Be ready to have the paramedics converge on the office building when I give the all clear. We may not have much time to get them out of there."

"Right, Lieutenant. We're all set to go here." Jack heard Roxanne acknowledge over the radio.

"Good." Jack turned down the volume of the radio and put it in his coat pocket. He turned to the captain to see if he was ready to go. When he saw the captain look to him, Jack nodded his readiness.

Both men entered the main hall of the apartment building. They looked for the manager's door. Once they found it, the captain knocked on the door. An elderly man answered the door. "Can I help you?"

Boyd and Jack showed the gentleman their badges.

"What's wrong officers?"

"How many residents are in this building?" asked the captain.

"Six. No, wait. Seven, including the young man who just moved in on the fourth floor."

"Which apartment did he rent?"

"Number eight, across from the old conference room of the old office building across the street."

Jack shared a significant look with the captain. This gentleman had just described the exact location of the hit man after Wally and Agent Mann.

"We need your help in evacuating this building quickly and quietly," instructed the captain with quiet resolve.

"Why?"

"Because your newest tenant isn't what he appears to be. He's a cold-blooded killer."

"He seemed so nice."

"Yes, well. We don't want him aware of our presence. We also don't want anyone else injured. If you could please quietly evacuate the other residents?"

"All right." The old man headed for the apartment across from his own. He quietly spoke with the man who lived there. They both headed up the stairs to get the other tenants to evacuate.

The residents came down the stairs quietly and in single-file. The captain silently directed them to the back door where he had a unit guide them to safety. The manager came up to the captain. "That's all of them, except the one you're after."

"Good. You better get out yourself, sir."

The old man nodded and left out the back door.

Captain Boyd and Jack took the staircase up to the fourth floor. A couple of feet before they reached the door of the apartment the sniper was holed up in Jack noticed something on the wall near the floor. He put his hand out stopping the captain's advance. "Wait, Captain," he softly said.

Boyd looked at Jack with confusion before asking just as quietly, "What is it?"

Jack pointed to a pair of small, barely noticeable sensors on either wall near the floor. "It's an electronic sensor. Sort of like an electronic trip wire. Wally once told me about how they work. It'll set off an alarm if 'tripped' warning him." He motioned for the captain to step over the sensors.

They carefully stepped over the sensors without setting them off, took out their guns, and took up opposite positions in the doorway. Jack broke in the door aiming high with the captain aiming low. They saw a young brown-haired man aiming a gun out of the open window toward the conference room across the street. Jack saw him get off one shot before the young man spun around upon hearing the door busted in and the captain yell, "Freeze! Police!"

The young man looked surprised that Jack and the captain had been able to avoid his early warning device.

"Drop the gun!" ordered the captain.

The young man looked from Jack to the captain. Jack saw the calculating look in the young man's eyes as he quickly gauged his chances against both Jack and Captain Boyd. The young man surrendered dropping the gun. The captain and Jack approached the gunman, and the captain handcuffed the hit man. Jack carefully picked up the gun with a handkerchief trying not to get his fingerprints on the gun before looking through the unfamiliar scope. He saw two figures on the floor. One's body was luminescent. The other's was only a faint outline. He put the gun in an evidence bag before turning to the captain. "Captain, I'm heading over to the building Wally and Agent Mann are trapped in."

The captain just nodded his approval.

Jack left the room at a run taking out the two-way radio from his coat pocket and turning up the volume as he ran. "Roxanne, all clear! Get those paramedics over there quick! He may have recently hit one of them! I'm heading over there right now!" Jack raced down the stairs and out of the building towards the condemned office building.

Roxanne was outside of the building Wally and Automan were trapped in helping the paramedics to set up for at least one incoming patient when she saw Lt. Curtis run past her on his way to the main entrance of the building. She was also trying to keep the curious residents from the apartment building from interfering with the paramedics. She hoped Wally and Automan were all right, but she remembered that Wally had been shot. She informed the paramedics that at least one person had been shot and had lost a lot of blood. Roxanne peered to the main entrance to see the lieutenant pause at the main entrance.

Jack stood for a couple of seconds in front of the main entrance door before barging in silently praying he wasn't too late. He didn't think he could stand to lose another good friend to another hit man.

A/N: Were Wally and/or Auto hit again? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out. Oh, and thank you for the reviews! They're my inspiration to keep writing. :)


	10. Getting Worse

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 10--Getting Worse

Automan's gaze had constantly shifted between watching the sniper's movements and Walter's movements. 'Walter barely avoided that last shot,' thought he. 'He won't be able to avoid the next shot.' As soon as he had seen the sniper setup for the fourth shot, Auto had disappeared from his position and reappeared next to Walter. He had quickly grabbed Walter's right arm and dragged him to the floor. Automan had landed such that he landed on the floor first with Walter landing on his uninjured right shoulder on top of Auto to reduce the shock to Walter's already injured left shoulder. The bullet had whizzed over Wally's head missing him by a mere inch.

"Whew, that was close," said Wally. "Thanks, Auto." Automan silently nodded before carefully helping Walter sit up trying not to put any undue strain on his injured shoulder. Wally's face suddenly paled and he sat perfectly still as an unexpected wave of dizziness swept over him. 'Must have sat up too quickly,' thought Wally.

Automan sat up as well. He let Walter stay sitting on the floor as he peered to the building the sniper was holed up in. He saw Lt. Curtis and Capt. Boyd had reached the sniper's position without the sniper's knowledge and were almost on top of him. Auto watched as they quickly subdued and arrested the hit man before turning his attention back to Walter. "Lt. Curtis and Captain Boyd have arrested the sniper," he informed Walter. Wally nodded acknowledging the information.

Auto noticed how pale and sweaty Walter's face had become just within the last few minutes. He instantly performed a cursory examination of Walter's condition. The left shoulder of Walter's dark gray business suit jacket appeared wet from the blood, and he remembered how low Walter's blood pressure felt when he touched him just before pulling Walter to the floor. His hair was also starting to become matted with sweat. "Walter, are you feeling okay?" asked Automan, starting to suspect Walter was showing initial signs of shock.

Wally slowly nodded and answered, "Yeah, I think I'll be all right. I'm just a little cold and lightheaded." He paused trying to work up some audacity before continuing, "Come on. Let's try to find a way out of here."

Auto nodded as he slowly rose to his feet keeping a concerned gaze on Walter. He reached down and holding Walter's right elbow, slowly helped Walter to his feet. He let go. Wally suddenly started to sway feeling extremely dizzy. Auto quickly reached out and steadied Walter asking, "Walter, are you sure you're okay?"

Wally took a couple seconds to respond. He found himself having to concentrate on what Automan had just asked him. He realized just how woozy he really did feel. "Auto, I..." His voice quickly faded to nothing as his eyes rolled up into his head and he suddenly passed out collapsing towards Auto. With lightning quick reflexes, Automan instantly caught Walter and gently lowered him to the floor laying Walter on his back. He swiftly loosened Walter's tie and opened up the collar on Walter's shirt.

"Cursor, an empty crate box and a blanket," commanded Auto suddenly. A ball of light appeared and Cursor quickly rezzed up an empty crate box and a gray blanket. Automan quickly and carefully placed the crate box under Walter's legs to elevate them. He, then, spread the blanket over Walter's body up to Walter's chest in an attempt to keep Walter warm. He hastily took off his own business jacket, knelt next to Walter's left shoulder, and firmly pressed his business suit jacket to Walter's shoulder in an effort to curtail the bleeding. Auto saw Walter flinch away from the pain.

Wally's eyes fluttered open and focused on Auto's face. He managed to softly say in a weak voice, "Hurts."

"I know," soothed Automan regretfully. "but I have to."

Wally weakly nodded in understanding squeezing his eyes shut against the pain for a few seconds. When he did open them again, Auto saw the agony reflected in Walter's eyes. Wally's attention quickly focused on Automan and he said in a barely audible whisper, "Cold...Thirsty." Auto saw Walter's head loll to the side as he lost consciousness again.

Cursor appeared and beeped and twittered in cursor talk to Automan informing him that paramedics were outside of the building they were in and Lt. Curtis was in the building and on his way up.

"Good. He **must **hurry. Walter requires **immediate **medical attention," replied Auto, still keeping pressure on Walter's shoulder. He was running out of time. Walter's condition was steadily deteriorating. He looked worriedly at Walter before quietly saying, "Hang on, Walter."

A/N: Another harrowing cliffhanger, oh my... malicious grin 


	11. Out of Danger

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 11--Out Of Danger?

Lt. Jack Curtis stood on the main floor of the old office building trying to get his bearings. He recalled the letter from Agent Mann that Roxanne had shown both him and the captain saying that they were trapped on the fourth floor and quickly started looking for a staircase he could use. He found a stairwell off to his right and sprinted towards it. He entered the stairwell and raced up the steps to the fourth floor. He exited the stairwell frantically searching for the room they were trapped in. Once he spotted the room, Jack broke in the door trapping Agent Mann and Wally in the room. He stood in the doorway frozen with shock at the sight that greeted his eyes. The image of Jack's good friend Nate Hester, who had also been shot by a professional hit man, lying dead on a stairwell landing flashed unbidden into Jack's mind. He managed to gasp out one word, "Wally..."

Wally was lying unconscious on the floor on his back with his legs resting on an empty crate box. A gray blanket covering him up to his chest rapidly rose and fell with every rapid, shallow breath he took. His naturally wavy black hair was matted to his head with sweat. His face was drenched with sweat and almost as white as the shirt he wore. Agent Mann was kneeling next to Wally's left shoulder. He had his business jacket off and pressed to Wally's shoulder. The fabric underneath was soaked through with blood.

Jack quickly banished the picture of Nate Hester from his mind unwilling to accept that the same fate would befall Wally. When Jack was finally able to find his voice again, he asked the one question he feared to know the answer to, "How is he?"

Automan had looked to the door when he heard and saw it broken in. He saw Lt. Curtis freeze in the doorway upon seeing Walter. He anticipated the question the lieutenant asked and quickly reassured him, "He is alive but in severe shock. We _must _get him **immediate **medical attention." Auto's reassurance and call to action seemed to snap Lt. Curtis out of his stunned state.

"The paramedics are waiting downstairs outside the main floor entrance," said Jack matter-of-factly.

Automan silently nodded acknowledging the information. He knew he had to find a way to disable the energy field first or he wasn't going to be able to **get **Walter out of the room, much less down to the waiting paramedics. Figuring the generator he had sensed before--and could still sense--had to be what was creating the energy field, Auto quickly changed his vision to infra-red and swiftly scanned the room. He spotted a small dot in a corner. He switched back to his regular vision and concentrated on the corner where he had seen the small, red dot. He noticed a small, black camera hidden in the shadows. He pointed to the camera and instantly instructed Lt. Curtis, "Shoot that camera."

Jack looked to the corner Agent Mann was pointing to. At first, he couldn't spot any camera. Then, he made out the small, black shadow of a small, surveillance-style camera hidden well within the surrounding shadows. 'How the heck was he able to spot that camera so quickly?' silently wondered Jack with renewed admiration for Agent Mann's abilities. Not questioning why Agent Mann wanted him to shoot the camera, Jack quickly took out his gun, aimed it at the small, black shadow of the surveillance-style camera and fired. Jack saw a small explosion in the corner as the camera shattered into hundreds of smaller pieces.

Automan saw that with the generator destroyed, the energy barrier surrounding the room dissipated. He nodded silently to Lt. Curtis in gratitude and went to Walter's right side. The blanket covering Walter slipped off as Automan effortlessly scooped up Walter into his arms supporting him in such a way that Walter's uninjured right shoulder was resting against Auto's left side and Walter's head was resting on Auto's left shoulder. Auto could feel Walter's rapid, shallow breathing against his neck and chest as he held him. He turned to Lt. Curtis and said, "I need you to keep pressure on Walter's left shoulder." Lt. Curtis nodded, went towards Auto's left side, and firmly pressed Auto's jacket to Walter's left shoulder. Walter flinched away from the pain but did not wake. Automan ran out of the room and into the hallway towards the elevator at the end of the hallway with the lieutenant sprinting beside him holding Auto's jacket to Walter's shoulder. As Automan held Walter, he could sense Walter's heart rate gradually increasing to compensate for his slowly falling blood pressure. Recognizing the change in vital signs as an indication that Walter was slowly slipping further into shock, Auto thought worriedly, 'Hold on, Walter.'

Well before Automan reached the elevator with his precious load, he sub-vocally, almost desperately, pleaded with the computer controlling the elevator to please get them to the first floor as quickly as possible. Sensing Automan's near desperation, the computer immediately signaled its understanding and opened the elevator doors just before the trio reached it. They were whisked down to the first floor within a couple of seconds. Soon after they reached the first floor, Automan spotted the paramedics outside and rapidly headed in that direction with Lt. Curtis by his side still holding Auto's jacket to Walter's shoulder.

Roxanne let out a shocked gasp instantly recognizing the extremely pale, limp form cradled in Automan's arms as he exited the building in front of her and rapidly headed towards her and the awaiting paramedics with the lieutenant sprinting alongside Automan pressing what she could only assume to be Automan's business suit jacket to Wally's shoulder. Conceptually, Roxanne knew Wally had been shot and had lost a lot of blood, but to actually see him cradled in Automan's arms, unconscious and so deathly pale, still alarmed her. "Wally!" she cried out. She watched Automan gently lay Wally on the awaiting stretcher before he stepped back staring worriedly at Wally. She turned to Lt. Curtis. "Lieutenant, I'd like to accompany Wally and the paramedics to the hospital," she requested.

Jack had seen in her eyes the same fear and concern over Wally's condition that he felt as he watched the paramedics quickly treat Wally. They had cut the right sleeve of Wally's suit and were attaching an intravenous tube to his right arm. They removed Agent Mann's jacket setting it on the ground. (No one noticed when Cursor immediately derezzed the jacket figuring Automan wasn't going to wear it with Walter's blood on it as Automan's, Lt. Curtis', and Roxanne's attention were all on the attending paramedics and Walter.) The paramedics then quickly and carefully cut away the blood-soaked fabric on Wally's shoulder, and secured an extremely large white pad to Wally's shoulder. The pad was rapidly becoming soaked as a flowering pattern of blood formed in the middle of the pad swiftly spreading outward. Jack still kept his attention on the attending paramedics but addressed his statement to Roxanne, "Okay, Roxanne, go. I'll help the captain clean things up here. Then, we'll meet you at the hospital as soon as we can."

"Thank you." Roxanne flashed him a grateful smile before she headed for the nearby awaiting ambulance. The paramedics had covered Wally with a blanket up to his chest and were just putting an oxygen mask on Wally's face when she approached them. "I'm coming along as well," she stated. They wordlessly nodded to her before quickly securing Wally on the stretcher and loading the stretcher into the ambulance.

Jack watched as Roxanne climbed into the ambulance and it rushed off to the nearest hospital before glancing to the ground where the paramedics had placed Agent Mann's jacket. The jacket was no longer there--only spots of blood. 'Hmm. Strange,' silently thought Jack with a mental shrug. He turned to Agent Mann, who was also staring worriedly at the departing ambulance. He noticed a spot of blood on the forearm of Agent Mann's sleeve. "You're bleeding," he said with some concern pointing to the spot of blood.

Auto looked to where the lieutenant was pointing. He hadn't even noticed the blood until now. "It's not mine," he simply said.

Realizing what Agent Mann was referring to, Jack quickly changed the subject. "We have the sniper in custody. He's being taken to the precinct as we speak. I'm going right now to interrogate him there."

Mention of the sniper brought to the forefront of Auto's mind all the pent up rage over what the sniper had nearly done to Walter. "I want to be there when you question him," said he, his voice low with suppressed fury.

"Sure," said Jack.

"I'll meet you at the station. I have a slight problem I need to take care of."

"Okay." Jack turned and headed towards where the captain was standing outside of the building the sniper had been holed up in.

Auto had waited until the lieutenant had left before heading to an adjacent alley. "Cursor," commanded Auto. Cursor appeared and beeped and twitted to Auto in cursor talk.

"I don't know Walter's condition. I understand you're worried about Walter. So am I. I want to help Lt. Curtis get some answers on who set us up. But first... ," replied Auto.

Cursor understood and instantly line-drew the Autocar on an adjacent street away from the commotion going on near the old office building. Auto climbed in and headed for the nearest generator.

Jack saw the captain turn when he saw Jack approaching. Jack noticed something in the captain's eyes he hadn't totally expected. The captain was furious. As soon as he reached the captain's position, the captain said, "This was a professional hit. I want you to find out who hired this guy. **No one** does this to one of my men and gets away with it."

"Yes, sir," responded Jack. He couldn't understand who would want to do this to Wally or Agent Mann and was eager to get to the bottom of this himself. He found himself more than willing to carry out that order.


	12. Uncovering An Urgent Situation

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 12--Uncovering An Urgent Situation

Jack waited in the interrogation room with a man with dyed brown hair sitting across from him. He was waiting for Agent Mann to arrive before he started questioning the sniper. As he stepped out of the room, Jack saw Agent Mann purposefully walking towards him. Jack met him halfway. "His name is Jordan Sanders. Goes by the nickname 'Shadow'. Professional hit man. He's in the interrogation room right now."

"Good," replied Auto.

Jack lead him to the interrogation room. As they walked into the room, the man with dyed brown hair looked up from the chair he was sitting in. Upon closer inspection, Jack realized the man was wearing brown contacts. Sanders' natural eye color was actually a much lighter blue. Jack stood directly across from Sanders. Agent Mann leaned against a wall opposite the chair Sanders was sitting in with his arms folded across his chest, his blue eyes never leaving the hit man's position.

"This is Agent Mann. He's going to be sitting in on our discussion," said Jack to Sanders.

"I have nothing to say to either of you," sneered the sniper. He sat back in the chair. "I'll wait for my lawyer."

The sight of the sniper instantly brought back for Automan all the painful memories he had of the fight to keep Walter and himself alive. One particularly painful memory lingered: Walter cradled in his arms, unconscious, slowly slipping further into shock. Anger boiled up inside of him. How dare this lowlife be so flippant while Walter lay in the hospital fighting for his life. Auto went over, reached across the table, and grabbed Sanders' collar yanking him clear out of the chair. He slammed Sanders against the wall behind Sanders knocking the wind out of Sanders without otherwise seriously injuring him. Sanders gasped for air and struggled to break free as Automan effortlessly held him a couple inches off of the floor. Auto put his face a couple of inches from Sanders and snarled, "Thanks to you, my best friend is lying in the hospital fighting for his life. Now, who hired you?"

Jack saw Sanders look to him for help. Jack just stared back with contempt. Inside, Jack was silently cheering Agent Mann. He felt like doing the same thing to this scumbag.

Realizing he wasn't going to get any help from that direction, Sanders stopped struggling and said, "Tilson."

Jack saw a look of shocked recognition come over Agent Mann's face and he dropped Sanders. Sanders skirted around Mann and sat in the chair.

"Ronald Tilson?" asked Jack confused.

Jack saw Sanders look uneasily towards Mann before replying, "Yeah."

"But how? He's locked up."

"Well, he's out now."

"Happen to know where he is?"

With another uneasy look to Mann, Sanders replied, "Long Beach."

Jack and Agent Mann stepped out of the room. Jack signaled to a uniformed police officer. The officer came up to him. "Yeah, Lieutenant?"

"Lock him up," ordered Jack pointing over his shoulder at the interrogation room door.

"Yes, sir," responded the officer. He went into the room and came out with Sanders in handcuffs.

Auto watched as Sanders was lead down to the jail area. After having regained his normal composure, he turned to the lieutenant, who had also been watching as Sanders was lead down to the jail area, and said, "We need to warn the captain. He will need to put 24-hour protection on Walter. If Tilson finds out Walter is still alive, he **will **kill him."

"And you?" asked Jack.

"I'll be okay," reassured Auto. "I have my own sort of protection."

Jack nodded, and they walked towards the captain's office.

The captain had been studying an Interpol report on the sniper, Sanders, when Curtis and Agent Mann walked in.

"Lieutenant, Agent Mann," said the captain by way of greeting. "Well, get anything out of him?"

"Yeah, Captain," said Jack with concern. "We've got an urgent situation."

"'An urgent situation'?" echoed the captain confused.

"Yes, Captain," replied Automan. "We just found out Tilson is out of jail."

"Tilson? As in the Tilson who terrorized the city with our own computers?; who nearly blew us to smithereens?" asked Captain Boyd.

"Yes, sir," replied Jack, slightly amused despite himself at the captain's apt description of Tilson.

"But how could he have gotten out? He was sentenced to life without parole."

"We're not certain, but we suspect he broke out," said Auto. "We also know he's hiding in Long Beach, which is in close proximity to Los Angeles. You will need to put 24-hour surveillance/protection on Officer Nebicher. If Tilson finds out Walter is still alive, he **will **try to kill him again."

"Wait, are you telling me Tilson would try a **second **time?" asked the captain running a hand over what remained of his hair.

"Yes, Captain," replied Auto.

"Makes sense, Captain," explained Jack. "Last time Tilson tried to terrorize the city, Wally was able to stop him. If Tilson manages to 'remove' Wally from the equation, he could terrorize the city virtually unimpeded."

"Okay, I'll assign some units on rotating shifts to protect him. Speaking of Nebicher, let's go see how he's doing." As the captain got up and left his office with Lt. Curtis and Agent Mann, he just silently prayed that Nebicher survived for them _to _protect him from Tilson as he remembered the brief glimpse he had gotten from his vantage point across the street of Agent Mann frantically racing to the paramedics with Nebicher, who was very obviously unconscious and in severe shock, cradled in his arms and Curtis at his side working intensely to keep up with Mann's longer legs before he had turned back to concentrate on securing the arrest of Sanders and the rest of the crime scene.


	13. Uncertain Prognosis

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch.13--Uncertain Prognosis

Roxanne was sitting in a chair in the waiting room of the police ward at the California Hospital Medical Center filling out some hospital forms. Her mind flashed back to the race to the hospital. The paramedics had done everything humanly possible for Wally. But for Roxanne, it looked like it wasn't enough. She knew Wally hadn't woken when the paramedics had started their emergency work on him and he hadn't woken when he had been admitted either.

She looked up when she saw Captain Boyd, Lieutenant Curtis, and Automan--still in his disguise as Federal Agent Mann--approaching her position. She could see the questions in their eyes. Questions she would have liked to have answers to herself.

"What are those?" asked Jack referring to the forms Roxanne was filling out.

"Since I'm the closest they could find to a relative, they asked me to fill out the paperwork."

Automan asked the one question that was on all their minds. "Do you have any new information on Walter's condition?"

"I haven't spoken to a doctor yet," replied Roxanne with some unhappiness in her voice. "but a nurse I was able to ask said he was in critical condition and the doctors were working to stabilize him. Unfortunately, that's **all **I've been able to find out."

The men all looked disappointed at the lack of news. The captain and lieutenant sat down on either side of Roxanne. Automan remained standing. Roxanne went back to filling out the forms. She was on the last one and wanted to get done. She had gotten half way through the form when she felt a presence near her. She looked up to see Automan standing near her. He quietly told her, "Roxanne, I need to speak to you alone."

She saw the tired as well as worried look in his eyes. 'He must be getting low on energy,' thought she. She stood up and placed the forms she had been trying to get through on the seat. They walked out of the waiting room together. They spotted an unoccupied room and quickly stepped inside. When he turned to her, she could see the strain on his face from having to remain in her world for so long without recharging.

"I'm low on energy and need to go. I'll be back as soon as I can," said Auto. She nodded in understanding before he disappeared. She stepped out of the room and headed back into the waiting room.

"What happened to Agent Mann?" asked the captain as soon as she got to the waiting room.

"He said he had to leave," explained Roxanne vaguely. "but he would be back as soon as he could." She picked up the forms she had been working on and sat back down in the chair. She finished filling out the last document when a doctor in his forties with brown hair and bifocal glasses approached their position. He stopped in front of the trio and asked, "Are you all here for Officer Nebicher?"

"Yes, we are," replied Jack as he stood up. "I'm Lieutenant Jack Curtis and this is Officer Roxanne Caldwell and Captain Boyd." He indicated the woman and man next to him.

"I'm Dr. John Tyler, Officer Nebicher's attending physician." Dr. Tyler saw the worried looks on their faces and wished he were bringing them good news about their friend. "Officer Nebicher is very lucky you got to him when you did, and he is one heck of a fighter. Unfortunately, he is still in critical condition. Shortly after he arrived here, he lapsed into a coma resulting from the massive blood loss and severe metabolic imbalance. When he slipped into the coma, he started having trouble breathing on his own. He is currently on a ventilator to help him breathe." He sighed. "He **is** slowly responding to the transfusions but will still require an immediate, direct transfusion to stabilize his condition enough that I can operate on him to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. We have a pressure pad on his shoulder right now, and it is helping to reduce the amount of blood he is losing." He paused with a sad sigh before informing them, "Unfortunately, our supply of his particular blood type is running low." He didn't know how they would react to his next questions, but he knew he had to ask for the sake of his patient. "Would you be willing to have your blood tested for donor compatibility? And if your blood type is found to be compatible with Mr. Nebicher's, would you be willing to donate?"

"Yes," responded Jack and Roxanne instantaneously and simultaneously.

"Of course," replied the captain at the same time.

"Good. I'll have a lab technician come and escort you to a room to take your blood samples. I need to get back to my patient." Dr. Tyler left the waiting room.

After a minute, a young man with light brown hair in a hospital smock came up to them. "Hi. I'm Steve. I've come to escort you individually to a room to take your blood samples."

"Okay, I'll go first," said the captain. He and the lab tech left the waiting area heading for a vacant exam room. After a couple of minutes, the captain and Steve returned to the waiting room. Jack stood up and volunteered to go next. He and Steve left the waiting room also heading for an unused exam room. After a couple of minutes, they too returned. Roxanne stood up and went with Steve as well to an empty exam room. They too came back a couple of minutes later.

Steve said to them, "I'll get your blood samples to the lab right away and test them. Either Dr. Tyler or myself will tell you the results."

After ten minutes, Dr. Tyler came back into the waiting room. "First, I know you're all anxious to know if there's been a change in Officer Nebicher's condition. I'm sorry to say there has only been marginal improvement. His blood pressure is still much too low to perform the surgery, and he is still in a coma.

"Now, I just got the test results back from the lab. Ms. Caldwell, your blood type is compatible. I would like to set up the transfusion as soon as possible. The sooner I can administer the transfusion; the sooner I will be able to operate and remove the bullet and stop the bleeding giving Mr. Nebicher a better chance for recovery."

"Of course, Doctor," replied Roxanne. She followed the doctor to the room Wally was located in.

Just before they reached the entrance door of the ICU, Dr. Tyler stopped and turned to Roxanne. "I have to warn you. You may be shocked by what you see."

She nodded in understanding. She was given a green hospital issue coat to wear and a pair of covers for her shoes just before they entered the ICU. "Shocked" was an understatement for Roxanne. She was taken aback as she stood just inside the doorway, her whole awareness focusing on Wally. He appeared so shrunken and vulnerable. He was almost as pale as the sheets he was lying on. His right arm lay lax outside the thermal blanket he was covered with, IV needles taped into place. Tubes hung from an IV tree, delivering clear liquids and blood into his system. A large white pressure pad on his left shoulder was partially soaked with blood. His left arm was in a sling. A large tube coming out of his mouth was attached to a flexible plastic hose hooked up to a ventilator. Wires from metal disks taped to his head led to a strip recorder on a table beside the bed.

Roxanne stared transfixed at the rapid, repeating pattern beeping on the cardiac monitor over his head. "Oh, Wally," she breathed. She had to drag her eyes away from the hypnotic pattern as she heard the doctor saying something to her.

"...need to get started Ms. Caldwell." Dr. Tyler waited for her response. He had seen the look of utter shock on her face at seeing his patient.

Roxanne turned to the doctor with a renewed sense of determination and urgency. She had to help out Wally any way she could. She followed the doctor as he lead her to a bed that had been set up parallel to the bed Wally was lying on and requested she lie down. She laid down on the bed. Dr. Tyler and some nurses started to set up the machinery necessary for the transfusion. Within minutes, they had the equipment set up and the blood transfusion was initiated.

Trying to ignore the machines, Roxanne kept her gaze on Wally hoping to see any sign of improvement. As she lay there, she realized just how close she had come to losing Wally. With that awareness came the revelation of how much Wally really meant to her. She couldn't lose him. Not now.

After half an hour, the transfusion was completed. Dr. Tyler advised Roxanne to stay there and rest for the time being. He would monitor Wally's vital signs, which were already showing signs of improvement. She felt a little unsteady and complied by lying back on the bed.

Five minutes passed before the doctor came up to Roxanne. "He's stabilized enough to perform the surgery and is being transferred to the Operating Room as we speak. If you're feeling better, I'll have a nurse escort you back to the waiting room. I'll bring you news of his condition as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Doctor." Roxanne told the doctor just before he left on his way to the operating room. She slowly sat up. A nurse came to her bed and escorted her back to the waiting room, where Jack and the captain eagerly waited for any news on Wally. When she arrived, they bombarded her with questions. She waved them away as she found her way to one of the chairs. She still felt a little spent. They gave her a bit of breathing room, but she still saw the questioning looks on their faces. She let out a small sigh before informing them, "The transfusion worked and they're operating on him right now. Dr. Tyler said he would bring me more news of Wally's condition as soon as he could." She spread out across the chairs and dozed off.

After half an hour, Dr. Tyler came into the waiting room. Jack gently shook Roxanne awake upon seeing the doctor knowing she would definitely want to hear what the doctor had to say. She slowly sat up rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Jack and the captain stood on either side of Roxanne. All of them were looking at the doctor with expectant expressions.

"The transfusion and operation were a success," said Dr. Tyler with a small smile. "He's in serious but stable condition. He's back in the ICU and no longer in a coma, but he is still unconscious. He's off the ventilator and breathing on his own as well. We're monitoring his blood pressure, which is still a little lower than I would like, and his heart rate, which is still a little higher than I would like. He is showing improvement, however."

"Can we see him?" asked Roxanne. She found she desperately wanted to see him so she could verify for herself that he was going to be all right.

Tyler considered her request for a couple of seconds. His patient was out of immediate danger and was actually starting to show improvement. He couldn't see any reason why they couldn't see him as long as they kept their visits brief. "Yes, I'll permit it. You can see him one at a time, but I must ask that you limit your visits to only a couple of minutes."

"I'd like to see him first," said Captain Boyd, astonishing both Jack and Roxanne. They would have expected him to be the last person to want to see Wally. He saw the surprised looks on their faces and added, "I need to get back to the precinct soon, and I want to see how he is doing for myself." He wasn't willing to admit to either Curtis or Caldwell, but he was worried about Nebisher himself.

Jack grinned to himself as he briefly saw the worry flash across the captain's face before the captain masked it. He had suspected for some time that the captain had developed a soft spot for Wally. Now he was certain.

"All right, Captain. If you'll follow me," said Dr. Tyler. The doctor lead the captain to the entrance to the ICU. The captain was issued a green hospital issue coat to wear and a pair of covers for his shoes just before they entered the ICU. Dr. Tyler pointed out the bed to the captain and then excused himself so he could let the ICU staff know that he had allowed visitors to Nebicher's bed for a short amount of time.

The captain took in Nebicher's appearance. He looked so defenseless compared to the strong young man he'd gotten to know and even grudgingly respect. He was pale. His right hand lay lax outside the thermal blanket he was covered with, an IV needle taped into place. Tubes hung from an IV tree, dripping clear liquids into his system. A fresh white pad was on his left shoulder, and his left arm was secured in a sling. A nasal oxygen tube was on his face. Wires from metal disks taped to his head lead to a strip recorder on a table beside the bed. A cardiac monitor beeped in a slightly rapid pattern over his head.

The captain looked up as a nurse approached his position. "They can hear people while they're unconscious, sometimes," she offered. "If you want to tell him you're here."

Uncomfortable and not really knowing what else to do, the captain seized on the suggestion. "Hey, kid," he said quietly as if afraid he might wake him up. "It's Captain Boyd."

A muscle twitched on Wally's face.

"Can you really hear me?" asked the captain wonderingly.

A muscle twitched again, deep in Wally's face.

The nurse hastily took a look at the EEG and checked the IV flow before quickly turning to the captain saying, "I'm getting the doctor. It looks like Mr. Nebicher is starting to show signs of waking up." She left the captain's side.

The doctor came to the captain's side moments later. "I hear Mr. Nebicher is showing signs of waking up."

"That's what the nurse told me. If you'll excuse me, Doctor, I must get back to the station. I'm sure Curtis and Caldwell want to see him as well."

"Of course, Captain. I'll escort you to the waiting room, so I can tell them the good news."

Just before they turned to leave, the captain turned back to Nebicher's bed. "Get better soon, kid." he said.

Both the captain and the doctor left the ICU and headed for the waiting room. Jack and Roxanne looked at them expectantly. They noticed the smiles on both the captain's and the doctor's faces.

The captain spoke up first. "The doctor here has some good news for you about Nebish, so I won't spoil his chance to tell you. I, unfortunately, have to get back to the station." He turned to Jack. "Keep me informed on Nebicher's condition."

Jack realized the captain had called Wally "Nebish". 'Must be good news,' he thought with a smile. 'He called him by his usual nickname for him.' "Yes, sir," Jack said out loud. He and Roxanne watched as the captain headed out of the waiting room before turning their attention back to the doctor. "What is this good news you have about Wally?" asked Jack.

"Looks like Mr. Nebicher is showing signs of waking up," replied Dr. Tyler.

Jack and Roxanne smiled. "That really is good news," said Roxanne smiling.

"I know both of you want to see him, but I am still going to have to restrict his visits to only one of you at a time. You will also have to limit your visits to only a couple of minutes."

"In that case, I'd like to go next," said Jack with a fixed determination.

"All right. If you'll follow me," said the doctor. He lead Jack to the ICU, gave Jack a green hospital issue coat to wear and a pair of covers for her shoes just before they entered the ICU. Dr. Tyler turned to Jack and said, "His bed is over there." He pointed to Wally's bed. "You can go on ahead. I'm going to get a quick update on his condition."

Jack silently nodded watching Dr. Tyler head towards the nurses station and start quietly conversing with the on-duty nurse. He quietly approached Wally's bed. He was heartened by the sight that greeted his eyes. Although Wally still appeared pale, he wasn't nearly as pale as when Jack had first seen him in that old office building. His right hand lay lax outside the thermal blanket he was covered with, an IV needle taped into place. Tubes hung from an IV tree, dripping clear liquids into his system. A fresh white pad was on his left shoulder, and his left arm was secured in a sling. A nasal oxygen tube was on his face. Wires from metal disks taped to his head lead to a strip recorder on a table beside the bed. A cardiac monitor beeped in a slightly rapid pattern over his head.

Jack moved awkwardly past the visitor's chair to the side of the bed. He looked down at his friend, unable to think of anything to say or do. He felt almost as helpless as Wally looked. Wally lay still, remote.

Dr. Tyler saw Jack's hesitation and look of loss. He quietly approached Mr. Nebicher's bed. "Sometimes people can still hear you even though they're unconscious. Maybe if you told him you're here."

Jack seized on the suggestion gratefully. "Wally?" he said quietly, as if afraid he might wake the patient up. "It's Jack. I came to see how you're doing." He smiled a little as he quietly jested, "Can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you?"

A muscle twitched on Wally's face.

"Can you really hear me?" asked Jack wonderingly.

A muscle twitched again, deep in Wally's face.

Both the doctor and Jack saw Wally's reaction. "He is unquestionably showing signs of waking up," said Dr. Tyler.

"The captain left for the station, but Roxanne's still here." Jack saw the corners of Wally's mouth marginally curve upward in an extremely faint smile at the mention of Roxanne's name. "I know she'll want to see you, so I'll cut my visit short. See you later."

The doctor turned to him. "I'll show you the way out." He escorted Jack back to the waiting room where Roxanne waited. When she saw a smile on the lieutenant's face, she knew then that she had to see Wally. Both the doctor and Jack saw her determination to see Wally.

Noticing her intense desire, Dr. Tyler stated, "Let me escort you to the ICU. I have some notes I need to make on Mr. Nebicher's chart." He lead her back to the ICU and again issued her a green hospital issue coat to wear and a pair of covers for her shoes. Remembering the last time she had seen Wally in the ICU, Roxanne hesitated near the entrance to the ICU unsure what she might encounter. The doctor quickly allayed her fears, "He is doing much better since you last saw him. I can assure you." She accepted his reassurance and stepped into the ICU.

Although Wally still appeared pale, he wasn't nearly as pale as when Roxanne had first seen him in the ICU. His right hand lay lax outside the thermal blanket he was covered with, an IV needle taped into place. Tubes hung from an IV tree, dripping clear liquids into his system. A fresh white pad was on his left shoulder, and his left arm was secured in a sling. A nasal oxygen tube was on his face. Wires from metal disks taped to his head lead to a strip recorder on a table beside the bed. A cardiac monitor beeped in a slower, more steady pattern over his head.

The doctor had taken Wally's chart from the end of the bed and went to the nurses' station making notes on it as he went. Roxanne walked up to the side of the bed. She dragged a nearby chair closer to Wally's bed and sat in it. "Hi, Wally," she quietly greeted. "It's Roxanne." She saw a small smile form on his face. "I know our jobs can be dangerous, but I never thought something like this might happen." She carefully took his right hand in hers being careful not to disturb the IV tube as she absently, gently stroked part of the back of his hand with her thumb. "Jack and Automan even the captain are pretty worried about you. We all are."

Roxanne paused, not sure what to say anymore. She wasn't even sure Wally could hear her. It felt right to talk, but at the same time, she was uncomfortable doing it. 'I can't leave. I want to stay right here until Wally wakes up, but I can't sit here in silence either,' thought she. Out loud, she said, "I need you, Wally. You've become such a part of my life." She didn't necessarily want to bring him up, but she knew of another person that needed Wally almost as much as she did. "Automan needs you just as much or maybe more. You two are closer than close." She paused before saying with some edginess, "God, I wish you would just wake up."

She saw Dr. Tyler heading towards her and said, "I have to go, Wally. The doctor is only letting me visit for a short time." Roxanne hesitated before softly admitting, "I love you." She stood up, leaned over, and gently kissed Wally on the lips. She carefully squeezed Wally's hand then started to pull away.

She jerked back when she felt pressure on her hand.

"Wally?" she asked hopefully, unsure whether or not she had only imagined him squeezing her hand.

She squeezed Wally's hand again, a bit harder this time. And then waited.

Moments passed as if they were centuries. And then she felt it, Wally was squeezing her hand, harder this time. Joy leapt through her body. Could it be true? Could Wally finally be awake?

"Wally?" she asked again more excited as the doctor reached her side.

Roxanne waited keeping a steady gaze on Wally's face. 'Come on, love. Open those beautiful brown eyes of yours,' she silently pleaded. As if in ordinance with her silent plea, his gorgeous brown eyes opened and he looked up at her. "Wally!" she exclaimed joyfully.

"Roxanne," he whispered weakly in reply, smiling.

She wanted so much to hug him right then and there, but she was afraid she might dislodge the IV and other delicate equipment attached to him. She settled for holding his hand. She found that he was holding hers in return.

Wally looked questioningly to the man standing beside Roxanne.

"Wally, this is Dr. Tyler. He's been your attending physician," explained Roxanne.

"Oh," whispered Wally.

"I need to perform some routine tests, then I'll have you transferred to a private room in the police ward." said the doctor to Nebicher. He saw Nebicher carefully nod in understanding. Dr. Tyler turned to Roxanne. "Why don't you tell Lieutenant Curtis the good news? Something tells me that he would rather hear the news from you, than me. I'll come and tell both of you which room he's been transferred to."

Roxanne was reluctant to leave Wally's side, but she knew the lieutenant would want to know that Wally was awake. She squeezed Wally's hand one last time and felt him squeeze her hand in return before they both reluctantly let go. She headed for the waiting room with a joyful smile on her face.

Jack saw Roxanne approaching the waiting room. She had an enormous smile on her face, and he knew she must have excellent news for him. "Well, how is he?" asked Jack referring to Wally.

Roxanne couldn't hide her excitement. "He's awake!" she exclaimed joyfully. "Dr. Tyler's performing some routine tests on him right now, then the doctor's going to transfer him to a private room in the police ward. The doctor said he'd come and tell us which room he's been transferred to."

"That's great!" exclaimed Jack, beaming himself at the wonderful news. He remembered the worried look that briefly flashed across the captain's face as well as Agent Mann's worried look after he had laid Wally on the stretcher and added, "We have to let the captain and Agent Mann know."

"I'll tell them," said Roxanne. She knew exactly how to reach the captain. She had an idea on a way to contact Automan, but it would have to wait until the doctor told her which room Wally was being transferred to. She knew the captain was going to be pleased upon hearing the news. She was looking forward to telling Automan as well. She headed towards the nearest pay phone still smiling joyfully.

A/N: Whew...long chapter! -wipes sweat from her face- Hope you enjoyed it. :) Again, thanks for the reviews! Sorry for the late Update!


	14. On the Road to Recovery

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 14--On The Road To Recovery

Wally lie in the private room the doctor recently had him transferred to. Dr. Tyler had said he would keep him there for at least 48 more hours. He wanted to observe him for the first twenty-four hours to make sure Wally didn't relapse, and Dr. Tyler had said Wally's electrolytes were still out of balance. He wanted to bring his electrolytes closer to normal levels before he released Wally. Wally told the doctor he wanted to be awake when Roxanne and Jack came to the room, so Dr. Tyler had given him some mild pain medication. It was just enough to take the edge off of the pain without making him drowsy.

He looked to the door as it opened. Jack, Roxanne, and Automan--disguised of course as Federal Agent Mann in his typical white shirt, black tie, and black three piece suit--walked into the room. "Look who we found, or I should say who found us," said Roxanne with a smile referring to Auto.

"Auto! You're here!" feebly exclaimed Wally, smiling. He hadn't expected Automan to show up for some time. Wally couldn't remember when Automan had last recharged and figured Auto would be wherever he goes to recharge.

"Walter, glad to see you're awake," responded Automan, smiling himself. Walter looked pale and weak yet, and he had lines of pain around his eyes, but he was awake and responsive. That was enough for Auto right now.

Roxanne and Jack walked to the right side of the bed. Auto positioned himself on the left almost as if he were guarding Wally from any further harm.

Wally very carefully slid over in the bed to make room for Roxanne to sit down on the bed next to him. She delicately sat down on the bed next to Wally and edged as close to him as she dared without interfering with the IV tube still connected to his right hand. She tenderly took his right hand in hers being careful not to disturb the IV tube as she absently, gently stroked part of the back of his hand with her thumb.

Jack sat in the visitor's chair before saying, "Have any idea how long they're keeping you in here?"

"Well, Dr. Tyler said he wanted to keep me here for at least 48 more hours," replied Wally, his voice much weaker than usual. "Something about observation so I don't relapse. He also said something about bringing my electrolytes closer to normal levels before releasing me." He paused. "Have you been able to find out who set us up?"

Wally saw Jack and Auto share a look between them as if silently asking each other how to break the news and who should be the one to disclose the news. He looked from one to the other. "What is it?"

Jack sighed deciding he would be the one to tell Wally. "Wally, do you remember Ronald Tilson?"

Wally looked to Auto, who silently nodded. Yeah, Wally remembered Tilson. How he had LA in his frightening grip; how he and his associate had nearly killed his friend Bart Johnston and Automan; and how he had nearly blown the LAPD municipal building sky high. Oh yeah, Wally remembered him. "But I thought he was locked up?" asked Wally out loud, confused.

"He was," said Jack.

"We suspect he broke out. We also know he's hiding in Long Beach, which is in close proximity to Los Angeles," Automan took up the conversation. "I've requested the captain put 24-hour surveillance/protection on your room to prevent Tilson from making a second attempt." Auto pointed to a corner near the ceiling.

Wally looked to the place Automan was pointing to and saw a video surveillance camera installed in the room. Wally didn't even want to consider a **second **attempt. Heck, he was still recovering from the **first **attempt.

Roxanne noticed how tense Wally had gotten and attempted to lighten the mood. "Well, at least we know you're safe and sound, right now." She gently squeezed his hand. Wally squeezed her hand back.

"Yeah, Roxanne's right," said Jack. He stood up and put his hand on Wally's right shoulder. He glanced at the clock on the wall realizing he had been at the hospital for close to three hours. He decided he best get back to the station as well. "Wally, I have to get back to the station, but I'll see you tomorrow." Jack saw Wally nod. He bid his farewell to Agent Mann and Roxanne before walking out of the room.

Wally winced suddenly and writhered from unexpected pain. Roxanne looked at him with concern. "Wally, what's wrong?" asked Roxanne.

Wally didn't want to distress her, but his shoulder was starting to ache. "My shoulder. It hurts." He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain when he inadvertently put pressure on his injured shoulder as he tried to find a slightly more comfortable position.

Roxanne let go of his hand and stood up. "I'm getting Dr. Tyler. Maybe he can give you something for the pain. I'll be back."

Roxanne saw Wally nod before she left the room.

Auto carefully came closer to the left side of Wally's bed. "I may be able to help reduce the pain, but it will only be temporary."

Wally looked to Automan unsure what Auto had in mind. His shoulder was really starting to bother him, and anything that might ease the pain was welcomed. "Okay," he said, the pain evident in his voice.

Auto saw Walter tense up slightly as he gently laid his left hand a quarter of an inch above Walter's injured left shoulder. "Relax," soothed Auto trying to ease Walter's nervousness. He radiated an extremely low electrical field to vasodilate the blood vessels in Walter's shoulder. The increased blood flow to the area made the muscles slowly relax. Auto kept a close watch on Walter's face to see if his "temporary pain reliever" was helping. He saw some of the pain slowly recede from Walter's face.

Wally looked at Auto's hand. The pain had decreased to a more bearable level. He shifted his gaze to Auto's face. "Thanks, Auto. That helped."

Automan smiled and nodded before removing his hand. He took a couple of steps away from the bed resuming his almost custodial stance.

Moments later, Roxanne arrived with Dr. Tyler. Roxanne walked into the room, but Dr. Tyler suddenly stopped in the doorway.

Dr. Tyler watched as Ms. Caldwell walked past the tall, blond stranger in the three piece suit unfazed heading towards his patient. He stood evaluating the danger this man might have posed to Nebicher. He had strict orders to report **any **unfamiliar persons to security right away. He turned to make that report when he heard Nebicher weakly yell out behind him, "No! Wait! Ah..." He turned back to see Nebicher sit up a second before suddenly fainting, his body starting to collapse backwards towards the bed. His right hand, which had been clutched over his left shoulder, suddenly went lax. His face had turned a deathly shade of white.

"Wally!" exclaimed Ms. Caldwell alarmed. She swiftly covered the rest of the distance to the bed heading for the right side of the bed. Dr. Tyler entered the room rapidly heading for his patient himself; his worries about the tall, blond stranger forgotten for the time being as he was consumed with worry for his patient.

Dr. Tyler had seen the blond man simultaneously spin around with concern for his patient and also exclaim in alarm, "Walter!" With two long strides, the blond stranger instantly covered the distance to the left side of the bed. The stranger was the first one to reach Nebicher, and he immediately caught Nebicher carefully supporting him by placing his left arm across Nebicher's back--being extremely careful of Nebicher's injured shoulder--and cradling Nebicher's head in his right hand as he ever so tenderly lowered Nebicher back to the bed. Once Nebicher was laying down, he removed his arm and hand from Nebicher's back and head. The stranger stayed close to the bed gazing down at Nebicher with the same look of intense worry in his blue eyes the doctor had only seen on people with close bonds to his patients. Color slowly started coming back into Nebicher's face. After a few seconds, Nebicher's eyes fluttered open and he focused pain-filled eyes on the other young man. He weakly asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "Auto?"

"Yes, Walter," softly responded the blond man, his voice soothing.

"What...happened?" Nebicher's voice was slowly gaining in strength.

"You fainted."

Dr. Tyler saw Nebicher weakly nod in understanding before Nebicher focused his attention on Dr. Tyler himself, who was standing next to the tall, blond stranger. Dr. Tyler saw recognition enter Nebicher's eyes, and Nebicher quickly focused his attention back to the other young man, the brief surge of adrenaline giving him added strength. He reached towards the stranger's right wrist and clamped down, his grip pitifully weak. "Auto,... he was... about... to call... security... on you. I... couldn't... let him," Dr. Tyler heard Nebicher strain to explain to the tall man. Nebicher's face paled slightly as his strength was sapped from trying to explain. Somehow, Nebicher still held onto the blond man's wrist, though.

"It's okay, Walter," responded the blond stranger in that same soothing voice. He leaned over, so Nebicher wasn't reaching so far over his body. He gently put his left hand over Nebicher's hand being careful of the IV tube. "We'll deal with that situation should it arise. Relax." Nebicher seemed to relax letting go of the other young man's wrist. The blond man carefully placed Nebicher's hand on the right side of the bed and straightened up.

Caldwell, the stranger, and Nebicher all looked to the doctor to see what he would do.

After seeing the obvious concern this stranger had for his patient and the easy rapport that seemed to exist between Nebicher and this tall, blond stranger, Dr. Tyler realized this person posed no threat to his patient. "Don't worry, Mr. Nebicher. I won't call security on your friend." Dr. Tyler saw Nebicher relax at that statement. The doctor continued, "Introductions can wait. First, let's do something about your shoulder. Seems the pain medicine I gave you has worn off. Looks like I'm going to have to give you something stronger, unfortunately I have to warn you one of the side effects is drowsiness."

Wally carefully nodded his understanding, too weak to talk.

"Okay. I'll be right back with the medication." Dr. Tyler left the room.

Wally carefully positioned himself so most of the weight of his body was on his right side before looking to Automan and then Roxanne. "Guess... I... over... did... it, ...didn't ...I?" he asked sheepishly with a great deal of effort, his voice weak and reflecting the pain he still felt.

"Yes, you did," admonished Roxanne with a displeased look. She gently held onto his right hand again being careful of the IV tube. "Don't you **ever **scare me like that again."

"Yes, ...ma'am," replied Wally with mock seriousness, weakly grinning despite the pain.

Auto smiled at the playful exchange between Walter and Roxanne. He carefully placed his right hand a quarter of an inch above Walter's left shoulder again radiating the low energy field.

Wally felt the some of the pain slowly receding from his injured shoulder and looked to see Auto's right hand carefully resting a quarter of an inch above his shoulder. He heard Roxanne ask with some concern, "Automan, what are you doing?"

Knowing what Automan was doing and already starting to feel the beneficial effects, Wally quickly reassured her, his voice growing a little stronger with the decrease in pain, "It's okay, ...Roxanne. He's helping... to ease some... of the pain."

"I am forcing the muscles in Walter's shoulder to relax. It will help alleviate the recent strain Walter put on his shoulder, but it is only a temporary solution. For longer-lasting pain relief, Walter will still require the pain medication," explained Automan to Roxanne. He turned his attention to Walter before removing his hand. "Roxanne's right. You did 'overdo it '."

"O... K, ...I'll be ...more careful," acceded Wally with effort.

Dr. Tyler came back into the room with a filled, capped syringe. Roxanne moved out of the way as he came near the right side of Wally's bed. He inserted the medicine into the IV bag hanging on the pole before turning to Wally. "We better make the introduction quick. I'm afraid this medicine is fast-acting."

Wally nodded all ready beginning to feel the pain recede into the distance as well as feeling slightly drowsy. Dr. Tyler wasn't kidding when he said the medicine would have an immediate effect on him. He said with some effort, "Dr. Tyler, ...this is ...my good friend, ...Federal ...Agent ...Otto ...Mann." Wally weakly motioned to Auto. "Auto, ...this is ...Doctor ...John ...Tyler. He's been... my... attending... physician."

"Well, then I owe him considerable gratitude for taking such good care of you," replied Auto as he and Dr. Tyler shook hands with Dr. Tyler receiving a slight shock.

They all turned to Wally in time to see him stifle a yawn.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to cut your visit short. Mr. Nebicher needs to rest," apologized Dr. Tyler with some regret. He could see the beneficial affect these two were having on his patient and disliked having to force them to cut their visit short.

"Yes, Doctor," replied Roxanne.

"Of course, Dr. Tyler," replied Auto.

The doctor nodded at their acceptance. "Well, I have more patients to look after so I will bid you all a good night." He turned to Nebicher. "I will be back to monitor your progress later." He saw Nebicher weakly nod just before he left the room.

Wally turned back to Roxanne and Auto. He could feel himself becoming more tired every minute.

"Unfortunately, I am also feeling a bit out of sorts. I'll see you tomorrow, Walter" said Auto.

Wally weakly nodded and replied with effort, "See you, ...Auto." Roxanne nodded her farewell to Automan. Wally watched with slight dismay as Auto disappeared. He stifled another yawn before turning to Roxanne.

"Take care, love. I'll see you tomorrow as well," said Roxanne gently. She leaned over and gently, but passionately, kissed him for a few seconds feeling him readily return the kiss. She squeezed Wally's hand and felt him weakly squeeze her hand in return before they both reluctantly let go. Before reaching the door, Roxanne turned back to the bed. Wally had fallen fast asleep. "Sleep well, love," she quietly whispered before exiting the room.

Later that night, Wally woke up. The pain medication the doctor had given to him earlier was still working, so his shoulder wasn't really sore just sort of tense and uncomfortable. He tried getting back to sleep tossing and turning trying to find a more comfortable position, which seemed to elude him.

Automan had tapped into the security camera the captain had placed in Walter's room to protect him. He saw Walter tossing and turning trying desperately to get into a more comfortable position so he could get back to sleep. 'His shoulder must be bothering him again. I think I can help,' thought Auto. He asked the computer controlling the camera if it could loop the video footage so the camera wouldn't catch him materializing in Walter's room.

"Of course, Automan," replied the computer. It started looping the video footage.

A sudden shaking occurred in Wally's room as Automan materialized by drawing power from the hospital's disused secondary generators so as not to draw energy from any vital equipment. Wally was alerted to Automan's imminent arrival by the sudden shaking. He opened his eyes to see Auto standing in the room. He asked in a sleepy voice, "Auto? Wha' are you doin' here?"

Automan came closer to the left side of Walter's bed before saying, "I came to help." He carefully placed his left hand just above Walter's left shoulder radiating an extremely low electrical field to vasodilate the blood vessels in Walter's shoulder. The increased blood flow to the area made the muscles slowly relax. Auto kept a close watch on Walter's face to see if his "tension reliever" was having any affect. He saw the discomfort slowly recede from Walter's face.

Wally looked at Auto's hand. The tension he had previously felt in his shoulder was almost gone. He shifted his gaze to Auto's face and said, "Thanks, Auto." He gave Auto a grateful smile before he closed his eyes as he felt himself slowly drift off to sleep.

"You're welcome, Walter," replied Auto, smiling. He was glad he was able to help. He removed his hand from Walter's shoulder and carefully rearranged the blankets so they covered Walter again. After considering the nightmare they had both recently lived through, Auto quietly added, "Sweet dreams." He wasn't sure Walter had heard his last statement, but he realized Walter **had **when he saw a faint smile form on his face just before his breathing evened out as he fell into a deep, healing sleep. Knowing his presence was no longer required, Automan disappeared from the room.

The computer controlling the camera released the video looping. When security looked at the camera footage the next day, they only saw Walter tossing and turning and then him sleeping soundly. They figured a camera glitch.


	15. Going Home

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 15--Going Home

The day before, Wally had been sleeping most of the day. He had visited with Jack, Roxanne, Auto, and even Captain Boyd for a short while, but they hadn't stayed long when they saw him starting to doze off.

Today, he had been lightly dozing. His shoulder didn't really hurt him, but the pain medication the doctor prescribed had left him drowsy. There wasn't much for him to do in his room, so he found sleep to be preferable most of the time anyway. Today was the day he was supposed to be released from the hospital. He was looking forward to going home and sleeping in his own bed. He was also getting sick of waking up to see the same white, bland walls.

He was awake now and sitting up. They had removed the IV from his hand, so he was more freely able to move his right hand without having to worry about accidentally dislodging the IV tube. Using a remote for a TV hanging on the wall, he pointed the remote at the television absently flipping through the channels trying to find a channel which might even vaguely interest him. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned off the television. Looked like even watching television was out of the question. There didn't seem to be anything he was interested in watching on. He almost wished he had at least one of his VCR tapes to play, but there was no VCR in his room to play the tape anyway.

Through his tap into the security camera, Automan had seen how bored Walter was getting. He decided to rez up and keep Walter company until Walter was released. He asked the computer controlling the camera if it could loop the video footage so the camera wouldn't catch him materializing in Walter's room.

"Of course, Automan," replied the computer. It started looping the video footage.

A sudden shaking occurred in Wally's room as Automan materialized by drawing power from the hospital's disused secondary generators so as not to draw energy from any vital equipment. Wally was alerted to Automan's imminent arrival by the sudden shaking as well as the lights flashing and dimming. He saw Cursor appear first. "Good morning, Cursor," said Wally. Cursor hovered near the foot of the bed. Automan started materializing at the foot of the bed.

After Auto fully materialized, he greeted Walter. "Good morning, Walter."

"Good morning, Auto," greeted Wally with pleasant surprise as well as some confusion. "What are you doing here so early?"

"You looked like you could use some company," replied Auto smiling.

"Okay, but Dr. Tyler or a nurse come to evaluate my condition every four hours. You might want to change into something a little less conspicuous."

"Cursor," commanded Auto. Cursor appeared and quickly rezzed up a white shirt, black tie, black pants, and black business jacket over Auto's body. Shortly after the clothing materialized on Automan's body, the computer controlling the video surveillance camera released the video looping. Auto gave Wally a nonverbal gesture as if to say "Well?"

"Nice," replied Wally.

"I know a game we can play together that will keep us occupied."

"A game?" asked Wally. He was unsure what Auto was referring to.

"Yes. Don't worry. I am certain you'll find it to be thoroughly entertaining," Auto reassured Wally as he came closer to the right side of Wally's bed.

"Okay," replied Wally hesitantly as he moved his legs so Auto could sit on the foot of the bed. He wasn't certain he wanted to play **any **game against Automan as Auto himself had started out as a game. Auto would have an unfair advantage over him in any game.

"Cursor," ordered Auto before sitting on the foot of the bed.

Cursor rezzed up a semi-opaque holographic screen between Automan and Walter. He, then, rezzed up two joystick controllers on either side of the holographic screen--one near Auto and the other near Wally. Auto's controller was made to be used with two hands. Cursor had modified Walter's controller so he could work it with his one uninhibited hand.

Auto quickly explained to Wally the objective of the game and how to play the game. Before long, they were absorbed in playing the game. Automan, who knew the game better, was winning more often, but he had restricted his reflex time to human standards to give Walter a chance to possibly beat him once in a while. (It would be no fun for Walter playing the game if he constantly lost.) Wally was quickly learning the game and was starting to give Auto a challenge. To his surprise, Wally found himself actually enjoying the game. Hours went past without them noticing. Before long, it was time for Dr. Tyler to check on Wally's progress.

Dr. Tyler stepped into the doorway of Nebicher's room to check on the progress of his patient, who was improving exceptionally well, when he paused in the doorway with a slight smile on his face. Nebicher's federal friend and he were engrossed in playing some holographic game together. Neither seemed to notice his presence. Both had amused smiles on their faces as they competed against each other. Dr. Tyler walked further into the room. Nebicher was the first one to notice his arrival.

Wally looked to the door when he saw someone walk into the room. Cursor quickly de-rezzed the screen and controls. "Hi, Dr. Tyler. You remember Agent Mann?" asked Wally.

"Of course," replied Dr. Tyler. Mann stood up, turned to face Dr. Tyler, and shook hands with him. "I've never seen a game like that," continued Dr. Tyler. "What was it?"

"Oh, just a game Agent Mann knew of," replied Wally vaguely.

"Well, whatever game it was, it looked like you two were enjoying it. I came to check on your progress. If everything checks out, you'll be released today."

"Great."

Dr. Tyler took Wally's blood pressure, heart rate, pulse and temperature making notes on Wally's patient record as he went along. He took a quick blood sample. "Well, so far so good. How's your shoulder feeling?"

Wally became conscious of the fact that he had become so engrossed in playing the game against Auto, he hadn't really thought much about his shoulder at all. He took a couple of seconds to respond to the doctor.

"Is everything all right?" asked Dr. Tyler with some concern when Wally didn't answer him right away.

Wally realized he hadn't answered the doctor's first question. "Yes. I guess I got so wrapped up in the game we were playing; I just realized I hadn't really thought much about how my shoulder feels," replied Wally with a slightly embarrassed look. He paused contemplating how his shoulder felt. "I guess it feels all right. No major pain."

"Good. Now, if your electrolytes have improved close enough to normal levels, I'll get the paperwork for your release started."

"That really is good news," said Auto. He and Wally shared a heartening smile between them.

"Well, I need to get this blood sample to the lab. I'll be back with the results and hopefully your release papers," said Dr. Tyler to Wally. He turned to Mann. "It was nice meeting you again, Agent Mann." Dr. Tyler saw Agent Mann nod in return before he left the room on his way to the lab.

A few seconds later, Jack and Roxanne walked into the room. "Hi, Wally, Agent Mann," greeted Roxanne. She went to the right side of Wally's bed. Automan moved back a step to allow Roxanne access to Walter's bed. Wally carefully slid over in the bed to make room for Roxanne to sit down on the bed next to him, and she delicately sat down on the bed next to Wally edging closer to him. She tenderly took his right hand in hers and absently, gently stroked the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Hi, Wally. Well, hello, Agent Mann," greeted Jack as he stepped into the room. He went to the left side of Wally's bed. "We just saw the doctor come out of the room. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, it was just a routine progress check," reassured Wally. "He said that if my electrolytes have improved close enough to normal levels, I'll be able to go home today." He looked down at the regular hospital gown he was wearing. He also knew that most of his previous outfit was probably ruined by all the blood and added, "I'll need a change of clothes."

"I'll get it," offered Auto. He left Walter's room looking for an unoccupied room. When he found one, he quickly ducked into the empty room. He swiftly looked around the area to make certain no one was there before he disappeared from the brief sanctuary.

Auto reappeared in Walter's apartment. He went to Walter's dresser and pulled out Walter's favorite striped red, white, and blue cotton, button down shirt, a pair of black corduroy pants, a pair of shorts, socks, and white tennis shoes. He ordered, "Cursor."

Cursor appeared and rezzed up a small black overnight sack. Auto put Walter's change of clothing in the bag. Just before he left the apartment with the clothing, Auto also grabbed Walter's tan jacket from the chair Walter had draped it over in the living room.

On the street, Automan commanded, "Cursor, the Autocar." Cursor appeared and quickly line-drew the Autocar on the street in front of Auto. Auto climbed into the car and headed back to the hospital.

Auto passed a uniformed police officer, who nodded to him, before Auto headed into Walter's room with the small overnight bag and the jacket. Captain Boyd was in the room also standing on the left side of Walter's bed. "Hello, Captain," greeted Auto as he stepped into the room to the foot of Walter's bed.

"Agent Mann," returned the captain.

Auto turned his attention to Walter. "I have your change of clothes." He held up the small black overnight sack with the clothing in it and Walter's jacket.

"Great. Thanks, Agent Mann. The captain had told me the gunman's real name is Jordan Sanders, a professional hit man who Interpol has been after for years."

"Thanks to your encounter with him and his subsequent arrest," Captain Boyd continued the conversation. "Interpol is re-opening other assassinations/murders that Sanders is also suspected to have perpetrated. He will definitely face trial here for his attempted murder of you two. Interpol is going to try for the death penalty."

"Personally, I would have preferred a much less painful way of encountering him," said Wally with a grin glancing meaningfully at his injured shoulder. Everyone chuckled at his statement.

Moments later, Dr. Tyler came into Wally's room. He paused at seeing so many visitors gathered around Wally's bed. "Whoa, full house," he commented.

Everyone turned to him and grinned.

Wally noticed the papers secured to a clipboard with a pen fastened to the top of the clipboard held in Dr. Tyler's left hand. The doctor also had some pills in a plastic cup in his right hand. He suspected the papers were his release papers. He was about to get out of here! "Well, Doctor, how were the lab results? Am I going to be released?"

"Well, your electrolytes are on the low side of normal, so I'm prescribing three days of rest." At Wally's disappointed look, Dr. Tyler added, "At home. Looks like you've also developed a mild systemic infection. You have a low-grade fever."

Everyone gave him a concerned look. Jack was the first one to ask, "Wally has a fever?"

"Don't worry. It's only a very mild fever," reassured Dr. Tyler. "We caught it in time before it could get any worse. I'm prescribing a dose of Tylenol, which will bring down the fever. I am also prescribing a strong, broad-based antibiotic to combat the infection itself, however one of the side effects of the antibiotic is mild drowsiness. I am also prescribing some pain medication for your shoulder. The pain medication is to be taken as needed and only after you have finished taking the antibiotic, however one of the side-effects of the pain medication is mild drowsiness. So, only take it if you don't plan on doing any driving or operating any heavy equipment. The antibiotic lasts for three days and needs to be taken once a day. That is the other reason I am prescribing three days rest. I want you to take these right now." He handed the plastic cup containing the pills to Wally. "They're the Tylenol--to bring down your fever--and the first dosage of the antibiotic. "

Wally released Roxanne's hand and took the plastic cup. Roxanne took a glass sitting on the table to Wally's right and poured a glass of water from a pitcher sitting on the table to Wally's right. She handed Wally the glass of water. He gave her a grateful nod before swallowing the pills then the water. He handed the glass back to Roxanne, who replaced it on the table. He handed the plastic cup back to the doctor.

Dr. Tyler turned to Captain Boyd. "Captain, Mr. Nebicher will need to remain on light duty for at least two weeks until his shoulder is stronger." Wally gave a disappointed pout at that news knowing it would mean he would be relegated to the computer room at the station for the two weeks. He had fought so hard to get the captain to let him out on the streets more often, and the captain had even started letting him handle his own cases. Now it looked like he would have to fight for that same responsibility all over again, even harder this time.

Captain Boyd nodded in acknowledgement.

Dr. Tyler turned back to Wally. "As soon as you sign these release forms, I can get them processed right away and you'll be able to go home." He handed the clipboard to Wally.

Wally nodded and took the forms. He placed the clipboard on his lap and skimmed over the papers soon realizing the doctor had circled the areas Wally needed to sign. Roxanne held the clipboard in place, while Wally signed in the appropriate areas before handing the clipboard back to the doctor.

"I see Agent Mann has brought you a change of clothing," said Dr. Tyler referring to Mann and the small, black overnight bag and jacket he was holding. "What we've been able to salvage of your other outfit is in this bag." He pointed to a small plastic bag on the floor next to the table to the left of the bed. "I'll get these forms processed and be back with a wheelchair, the rest of the antibiotics, and the pain medication shortly. That should give you enough time to get changed."

"Thank you, Dr. Tyler," replied Wally. He saw the doctor nod just before leaving the room.

Wally carefully shifted his position in the bed swinging his legs over the left side of the bed. He leaned forward, placed his right hand on the edge of the bed, and stood nearly falling as he promptly lost his balance. Jack shot out a hand to steady him.

"Wally?" asked Jack concerned.

"Just stood up a little too fast. I'll be okay," replied Wally a little embarrassed.

"Well, seeing how you're having trouble standing, why don't I help you get dressed?" offered Auto with a slight grin on his face.

"Funny," replied Wally with a look towards Auto that silently said "I am not amused.". He paused. With his bum shoulder, he just might need help getting dressed. "All right."

"Here, let me help you to the bathroom," said Auto seriously.

Wally nodded, and Auto came towards the left side of the bed. Auto offered his left arm, and Wally grabbed on carefully shifting his body so he faced the bathroom. Together they carefully made their way to the lavatory.

After ten minutes, they came out of the bathroom with Wally dressed in his tan jacket over top of his favorite plaid red, white, and blue cotton, button down shirt with the top two buttons undone, a pair of black corduroy pants, white socks, and white tennis shoes. With Auto's help, Wally made it back to the bed. He carefully lowered himself onto the bed sitting on the edge.

Roxanne stood up and went to the left side of the bed sitting on the edge close to Wally's right side. He took her hand in his. She noticed the slightly tired look on Wally's face and leaned towards him to get his attention. She quietly asked with some concern, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired," reassured Wally almost as quietly. "It's probably from the antibiotics."

Dr. Tyler came back into the room guiding a wheelchair into the room. "The paperwork is all set. You're free to go." Jack, Auto, and the captain made room for the doctor and the wheelchair as the doctor brought the wheelchair closer to the left side of the bed near Wally. He locked the wheelchair into place and folded up the foot plates. "Let me help you get into the wheelchair."

Wally nodded to the doctor before he let go of Roxanne's hand. The doctor carefully supported Walter by holding Wally's right arm as Wally cautiously stood heedful of what happened the last time he had tried to stand. He stood still for a few seconds waiting for a slight wave of dizziness to pass. When it did finally pass, Wally carefully shifted his position and lowered himself into the wheelchair. Once Walter was safely in the wheelchair, Dr. Tyler let go of Wally's right arm. He took two small prescription bottles out of the right pocket of his hospital smock and handed them to Walter. "These are the last two pills of the antibiotic and the pain medication." He again sternly reminded Walter, "Remember, I want you to take it easy for the next three days. No strenuous activities. And don't take the pain medication until after you've finished the antibiotics. If the pain in your shoulder becomes too much, you can take Tylenol with the antibiotics, but nothing stronger than that. Understand?"

"Yes, Doctor," replied Wally. He put the two bottles in his right jacket pocket.

The doctor nodded at Wally's acknowledgement. He left the room.

Jack approached the back of the wheelchair. Wally also saw Roxanne stand in preparation to leave. She bent down and picked up the small plastic bag on the floor near the table and carefully placed it in Wally's lap. Wally felt Jack unlock the brakes on the chair while still maintaining a firm grip on the handles. "Let's get out of here, huh?" stated Jack, his voice coming from directly behind Wally.

Wally smiled and gave a vigorous nod of affirmation.


	16. The Warning

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. Besides ya' wouldn't get anything outta me right now, anyway. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 16--The Warning

After being cooped up in the hospital for three long days, Wally enjoyed feeling the warm sun on his face as well as the cool/warm breeze as it gently ruffled his hair. They had arrived outside of the hospital with Jack pushing the wheelchair, Roxanne on his right holding his right hand, and Auto on his left. He saw the captain come out of the building behind Jack.

Jack stopped the wheelchair outside the door by the curb, and Wally felt Jack lock the wheels.

"I'll drive Walter home. I have to head to his apartment anyway," offered Auto.

"I don't know," replied both Wally and Jack simultaneously with uncertainty. Wally knew how Automan drove and realized he really wasn't up to being manhandled in the Autocar. Jack also remembered the hair turns Agent Mann tended to make when he drove. He didn't think Wally could handle all the tossing around he would be subjected to.

Wally saw Auto give a slight pout at their insecurity in his ability to drive slowly without subjecting Wally to a lot of jostling before Auto quickly reassured both of them, "I'll drive carefully. I promise."

Wally relaxed when Automan promised. He knew Auto would keep that promise.

Jack wasn't so sure. "I still don't know."

"It's okay, Jack. If Agent Mann promised to drive carefully, I believe he truly will," said Wally. Auto smiled at Walter's confidence in him.

"All right. It's your decision," conceded Jack.

"I'll be right back," said Auto. Auto quickly walked to where he had parked the Autocar. He climbed in, quickly yet carefully backed the Autocar out of the parking space, brought the car in front of Walter, parked, and got out.

Roxanne let go of Wally's hand and grabbed the plastic bag off of Wally's lap holding it in her right hand. Wally kicked the foot plates up and slid forward in the seat. She carefully bent down to place her left arm around his waist. He put his right arm across her shoulders. Roxanne reached under Wally's open jacket wrapping her left arm around his waist. With Roxanne's support, Wally carefully stood. He leaned against her as a slight wave of dizziness hit him passing a couple of seconds later.

Wally turned slightly to see Captain Boyd come and stand between him and Auto. "Both of you be careful. Tilson's still lurking out there, and he'll attack you the first chance he gets. We almost lost you two once. I don't want a recurrence," warned the captain to Wally and Auto just before they got Wally into the Autocar.

"Yes, Captain," replied Wally.

"Of course, Captain," replied Auto.

Roxanne carefully guided Wally to the passenger door of the Autocar. Automan opened the door and held it up as Roxanne awkwardly helped Wally lower himself into the passenger seat. She placed the bag on the floor near his feet. After Wally was safely inside the car, Auto closed the door. He went around to the driver's side and got in. Jack, Roxanne, and Captain Boyd all watched as the Autocar slowly pulled away from the curb heading towards the parking lot exit.

Inside the Autocar, Wally sat pondering over the captain's warning to both him and Auto. Tilson's hired gun **had** nearly finished him off. He was going to have to be more vigilant until Tilson was safely incarcerated.

Wally glanced to Automan. True to his word, Wally found Auto **was** driving **much **slower than he usually drove. The Autocar still took turns at ninety degree angles, but the reduced velocity kept the g-forces Wally was subjected to to a bare minimum. 'Tilson **knows** Auto's a hologram. That's the **only **way that hit man could have possibly have known how to not only trap but harm Auto as well,' thought Wally. He had once before come way too close to losing Automan to one of Tilson's accomplices. He couldn't allow Tilson another opportunity to harm Auto again. He had to find a way to stop Tilson.

Feeling a bit drowsy and figuring they were about half way home, Wally leaned back in the seat being careful to keep weight off of his left shoulder and started to doze off.

Automan glanced to Walter to find Walter lightly sleeping in the seat next to him. The captain's warning to both him and Walter flashed through Auto's circuits. He had come uncomfortably close to losing Walter to Tilson's hit man. He wouldn't allow Tilson a second opportunity to harm Walter again. He had to try to find a way to stop Tilson. For now, he just concentrated on getting Walter and himself safely home.

A/N: Well, thanks for reading another Automan adventure brought to you by yours truly. Stay tuned for the sequel to this story: "Crashing". And, please, keep those reviews coming! They keep me going. :)


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